When The Sun Goes Down, Will You Save Me?
by K.J. Callahan
Summary: sequel to A Little Less Conversation A Little More Action. Turns out the Dandies never died...and Amelia and AJ are in for one hell of a ride.
1. Chapter 1

**If They Get Me And The Sun Goes Down, Will You Be The Ones To Save Me?**

It's been five years since the fall of the Dandies in Chicago. After the success of their mission, Amelia and AJ were allowed to branch off from the main part of the business. They opened an assassination branch based in southern California. They both kept in contact with Gerard and his friends, as well as Chislett. Speaking of the Australian vampire, he relocated to California, finding it much closer to his native land, Australia, than Chicago.

It was now spring break! AJ had taken off the week before to go backpacking in Europe with Chislett, George, and Nina, which left Amelia to close down the shop. As she closed the blinds and locked the door to the office, she wondered what she could do for spring break. She wanted to get out of California, she knew that much.

_"Child, why not go and visit Mikey? You know you are always welcome there," the demon suggested._

She was right. As Amelia walked back to the apartment she shared with AJ, she called Mikey.

He seemed happy to have her come and stay with them in Jersey for a week.

Amelia went home and packed and took the first plane she could out to Jersey.

These days, things were a lot easier. Destroying Beckett and his crew had given the two girls a huge peace of mind. It was nice to be able to walk and not have to constantly watch their backs.

Five hours later, she landed in Jersey.

As she retrieved her bag from the concourse, a pair of cold hands covered her eyes.

"Guess who?" said a sing-song voice.

"Hi Frank," she giggled.

"Ready to go?"

She nodded. Frank grabbed her by the hand and led her out of the airport. He led her to a nice shiny black Mazda.

She whistled in appreciation of the car.

"Like it? Gerard got a sweet deal on it," Frank explained as she nodded.

He threw her bag in the trunk and climbed in the front seat. Ray was driving, and she was happy to see the oni.

The drive took a little more than 25 minutes, during which time Amelia filled the two in on everything that had happened since they last saw each other.

Finally, they arrived at the house that they shared with the Way brothers and Bob Bryar.

"It's really great to have you, Amelia. I just hope that everything is to your liking," Ray said as Frank got her luggage from the trunk.

"I'm sure it's fine, Ray. Thanks."

"I know, but we know how special you are to Mikey, so we just wanted to make sure everything was perfect."

The three of them walked up the stairs and Ray let her in.

Before she could even breathe, she was being scooped up into the arms of one Mikey Way. He gave her a giant hug, which she gladly returned.

"It's good to see you, my lady. Welcome to our home," he said with a bow.

"Oh Mikey, you're silly. You don't have to be so polite in your own home."

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Once Mikey had shown her around the house, he showed her to her room, which was right off the living room, next to his. She put her stuff away and rejoined Mikey.

"So, what do you want to do, my lady?" Mikey asked.

"Not sure. Maybe check out the city?"

"Sure, why not? We can all go out for a night on the town," he decided.

After the sun had set and Gerard had returned from some meetings with the town council, the six of them, Bob included, went out. They showed Amelia all of the cool things to do. It was awesome!

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Amelia had so much fun in Jersey that she decided to stay a little longer. The only thing was that, even though no one would dare hurt Amelia while she was in Gerard's city, Mikey still worried for her safety. Every time that she went out, he made sure that someone went with her. It was cute at first, but Amelia quickly grew tired of it. The demon tried explaining that she was very important to Mikey and he just wanted to make sure that nothing went wrong while she was in his city. As Mikey said, he didn't want to take any chances after the whole incident with the Dandies.

This particular night, Amelia decided to go out. She wanted to experience the Jersey night life by herself. Of course, Mikey was wholeheartedly against it, because he was worried for her safety. Tonight, she was particularly testy and she stormed out of the house, eager to just get away from Mikey and his overprotectiveness. She had done some research and knew exactly where she was going. She boarded a bus, put in some headphones, and watched the city go rushing by.

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As he watched Amelia walk down the street, Mikey wondered.

"Did she say where she was going?" he asked.

"Really, man, you've gotta let it go. She's a big girl demon now. She can take care of herself," Gerard said in a half-joking, half-serious manner.

"I know, but…"

"Hey Mikey, according to her latest Google search, she's going to the Killjoy Club," Frank said as he looked at her laptop.

Mikey's face contorted in a slight snarl.

"The Killjoy Club? That's like, an hour away, isn't it? The club in Aberforth's territory?" Ray asked.

Aberforth was the other leader of New Jersey. Gerard controlled the north half, including where they lived, up until the capitol, Trenton. Aberforth was an older vampire who controlled the Southern portion.

Gerard whistled in admiration. "Wow, the Killjoy Club? She's one smart demon. If she wanted to get away from you, Mikey, she really knew how to do it."

Mikey grimaced. "I know. No wonder she went to a club where Lycans aren't allowed."

Mikey still didn't like the idea of her going out by herself, but there was nothing he could do.

_'Dear Brother Orion, keep her safe tonight,' he prayed silently._

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After an hour's bus ride, the bus pulled up to a place called The Killjoy Club. Amelia got off of the bus and adjusted her one shoulder black tank top. She checked her reflection in the mirror, and decided that her neon green eyeshadow, blue streaked hair, and glow in the dark nail polish looked good.

The building itself was painted a bright blue, and bright pink letters on the front of the building screamed, "The Killjoy Club!" in fancy script. She walked into the club and was immediately thrilled by the color. There was so much of it that it was overwhelming. She looked for any kind of bouncer, but couldn't find any. There was only a sign on a chair that said, "Color is beautiful. Embrace it." She nodded and went down the stairs

While descending the stairs, she could hear the bass-heavy music thudding behind a door. She opened the door and walked in. Neon colors were splattered on the walls, which was both beautiful and an eyesore at the same time. There was a bar near the stairs as well as several rooms off to the side. The clientele was so diverse! There were vampires dancing and feeding from humans, nymphs mingling with faeries, and trolls sitting in the corner, being antisocial.

It was so fascinating to Amelia, who had never seen so many creatures before in one place. Bodies packed the entire place, and the club smelled of sweat, blood, and something else that Amelia didn't want to acknowledge.

_"Now child, be careful in here. Don't draw any unnecessary attention to yourself, the demon warned._

_'Yeah, yeah, I know." she replied dismissively._

At first, she had no idea what to do. She was kind of thirsty, so she made her way to the bar. A handsome vampire was behind the bar. He had dark hair and bright green eyes.

"Well, hi there. Haven't seen you around here before. You new?" he shouted in order to be heard over the music.

Amelia nodded.

"Very nice. What can I get you?"

Before Amelia could reply, someone placed some money on the bar and said, "I'll take two Bloody Red Cocktails, with a splash of juice for the lady."

Amelia turned around and found herself staring at a vampire with brown hair and bright red glasses on. She couldn't place it, but he seemed so familiar. Shaking her head, she accepted the drink and thanked him.

He smiled and flashed his fangs. "No problem."

He disappeared into the crowd and Amelia knocked back the drink. All of the sudden, the club got even better! The colors were brighter and the music was louder. She ordered another cocktail the same way and stumbled to the dancefloor.

Whatever was in that drink was pretty powerful stuff. So powerful in fact, she couldn't even hear the demon nagging her, which was great. As she danced, it felt like someone was watching her. She ignored it though, and kept dancing.

She danced the night away with various partners, but she couldn't shake the feeling that someone was watching her. She looked around and finally saw someone staring at her. He was sitting in the corner, and as Amelia approached, he stood up and walked over to her. He was really tall with short brown hair and brown eyes.

"Wanna dance?" he asked with a flash of fangs.

"Sure," Amelia giggled, the alcohol clearly taking effect.

As she stared into his chocolate brown eyes, she realized she could dance the entire night away.

"Then let's," he suggested and Amelia briefly wondered how he could read her mind before she was carried away by the pulsing beat..

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Mikey was busy pacing around the house. It was almost sunrise and Amelia still wasn't back yet.

"Dude, stop pacing. You'll wear a rut in the ground," Bob said, but Mikey shook his head.

"No. Where is she? It's almost sunrise and she's not back yet. What if something bad happened to her? What if she's hurt? What if some grimy vampire is busy feeding on her? What if –" he babbled before Gerard interjected.

"You know what? If you're so worried, I'll go look for her. Ray and Frank can come with me, we'll go to the Killjoy Club, and we'll bring her back, okay?" Gerard said, trying to ease his brother's nerves.

Mikey nodded. "I want to come with you."

"You know why you can't do that. I'd never hear the end of it if I brought you into the club, let alone Abe's territory. Don't worry, we'll find her. Come on guys, let's go," Gerard said as he grabbed the keys and walked out.

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Amelia was having a blast dancing with this guy! He was really cute and funny. He said his name was Bill, and he looked so familiar.

"You know," she slurred, "You look really familiar. I think I've seen you somewhere, but I don't know where."

"Oh really? Do tell."

"Well you see, my friend and I run an assassination business and we took down this nasty vampire named William Beckett a few years ago. He was a real slime ball. He tortured me and my friend AJ for weeks, but then my other friend Lucian came and ripped him apart! He's a big bad wolf and I'm glad he killed that sonuvabitch. You look just like him."

He laughed as he kissed her on the lips. "You talk too much."

The music they were dancing to changed to a faster song, and Amelia let out a soft moan as he grinded against her. She returned the favor and they continued dancing. She threw her head back in ecstasy as he placed kisses down her neck. His mouth stopped to rest in the middle of her neck, near the jugular vein.

Her eyes fluttered shut as she felt his teeth on her neck, and she waited to feel him bite down.

Instead, the two of them were roughly separated and a strong pair of arms caught her under her armpits. The music screeched to a halt and everyone in the club turned to look at her. She opened her eyes and saw her partner sitting on the ground, looking up. Looking behind her, she saw a shock of bright red hair.

"Hey look, it's Gerard. What are you doing here? Bill, this is my friend, Gerard," Amelia slurred drunkenly.

"Get away from her," Gerard said menacingly and bared his fangs.

"So sorry, my mistake. Have a good evening, Mr. Way," said Bill as he retreated.

As he walked away, Gerard did a double take. Could that have been…?


	2. Chapter 2

"Impossible," he muttered as Amelia began to squirm in his arms.

"Come on, Gee, I wanna dance!" she protested as she tried to wiggle from his grip.

"I don't think so. You're coming home with me," he said as he dragged her out of the club. The patrons parted for him like the Red Sea. Once they ascended the stairs, the music started up again.

Amelia fought him, but he was clearly stronger. He walked outside to the black Mazda, where Frank was waiting.

"FRANKIE!" she shouted as she tried to run to him, but Gerard held her back.

"HI FRANK, HOW ARE YOU? GOSH, I MISSED YOU!" she shouted and Frank snickered.

"Jeeze, Mimi, how much did you have to drink?"

"Oh, I dunno. I guess I must be pretty drunk, huh?" she giggled.

Gerard handed her off to Frank, who got in the backseat with her. Gerard sat up front.

"Let's get out of here," he said to Ray, who sped off from the curb.

Frank tried to buckle her in, but she was squirming too much. She crawled up to Gerard and began petting his red hair.

"Gee, Gerard, your hair sure is fluffly. I like your fluffly hair. Tell me, Gerard, how, oh how, do you get your hair so fluffly?" she asked in a singsong voice.

Gerard growled slightly as she kept petting his hair. Frank grabbed her hands and tried to stop her, but she kept petting him. Gerard, evidently fed up by this, suddenly turned around and looked into her eyes.

"Sleep", he said, and almost immediately, her eyes closed and she slumped against Frank, sleeping.

"Frank, do me a favor, will you? Bite her and see how much alcohol is in her system," Gerard said and he nodded.

Frank brought one of Amelia's wrists to his mouth and gently bit down. A second later, he raised his head and rolled the window down. He spit the blood out, wiped his mouth, and rolled up the window.

"Jesus, there's enough alcohol in her system to get the entire state of Wisconsin drunk. That's all I could taste," Frank said as he grimaced.

Gerard nodded, but was quiet the rest of the way.

"What happened in there Gerard? You're awful quiet," Frank noted.

"It's nothing. She was dancing with this guy, and he looked really familiar, that's all. I'll explain when we get home," he said, and left it at that.

The rest of the ride was silent.

When they got home, Frank picked Amelia up, bridal style and carried her into the house. Mikey was pacing in the living room while Bob watched TV.

"I'm glad you guys are back. Any longer and we would've had a permanent rut in the carpet," Bob deadpanned while pointing to Mikey.

When he saw Frank carrying Amelia, he rushed over, but Gerard shoved him back into the living room.

Frank carefully undressed her and put some pajamas on her. Then he placed her in bed, shut the lights off, and walked out into the living room.

He sat down next to Ray and looked at Gerard.

"Bob, I think you'd better go get started on a magical hangover remedy, because she's going to need it," Gerard said and he nodded as he went to the kitchen.

"Well? What happened?" Mikey asked, impatient.

Gerard began to fiddle with his hands, a nervous habit.

"Well, we found the club, no problem. I went inside and Frank and Ray waited outside. It was easy enough to find Amelia. I could have smelled her a mile away, she had so much alcohol in her system," he started.

"Yeah, and?" Mikey asked.

"Well, she was dancing dirty with this one guy, so I separated them and told him to get the hell away from her. When he looked at me, though, he looked so damn familiar. He looked like…like…"

"Who? He looked like who?" Mikey demanded, impatient.

"Get me a piece of paper. I'll draw his face. I can still remember it," Gerard said.

Ray got him a piece of paper and a pencil. Gerard began to draw a rough sketch, and after a few minutes, he handed Mikey the paper. Mikey looked at it and scoffed.

"That's impossible. He's been dead for five years," he said, and Gerard shrugged.

"Who did he look like?" Frank asked.

Gerard showed them the picture and they all gasped. Staring back at them, though the hair was shorter, was none other than William Beckett.

"But Gerard, we killed him! We killed all of them. I saw Lucian and AJ tear him to pieces. There's no way he could have survived that!" Mikey protested.

"I know, but what if what we saw, wasn't what was really there? What if it all was a giant illusion created by…"

"Carden," Bob finished and Gerard nodded.

"Wow. I always knew that bastard was good, but I never thought he was that good. To pull one over on even Lucian, who's 800 years old…Wow," was all Ray could manage to say.

The room was silent for a few minutes as they processed the information that Gerard had found. Mikey broke the silence by taking a glass that was on the table next to the couch and hurling it at the wall. It shattered into a million pieces, and with a sigh, he walked angrily out of the house. Ray got up and followed him to make sure he didn't do anything stupid.

Bob came out of the kitchen with a broom and dustpan. He cleaned up Mikey's mess and handed Gerard a cup with a blue liquid in it.

"When she wakes up, make sure she drinks all of it," he said as he walked back to his room.

Gerard nodded as Frank drew the curtains to block out the quickly rising sun.

Frank went off to bed, but Gerard stayed up. He first called Aberforth to let him know what had gone on that night. Abe promised he would keep an eye out for anyone matching William's description. At about 7:00 a.m., Ray returned with Mikey and Gerard went to bed.

Ray tried to get Mikey to sleep, but he refused. He walked angrily around the living room while Ray sat in contemplative silence for most of the day, nodding off every now and then.

At about 6:00 p.m., just as Gerard and Frank began to wake up, Amelia threw open her door and walked to the bathroom as fast as she could. Mikey heard he sounds of retching and when he walked into the bathroom, hangover remedy in hand, he found Amelia laying on the ground, hanging on to the toilet for dear life.

He rubbed her back and held her hair back as she retched again. When she was done, she wiped her mouth and looked up at him.

"Thank you," she whispered, her voice hoarse.

He nodded as he gave her the cup. She drank it down, and almost immediately started to feel better. He helped her off of the floor and led her into the kitchen, where Ray was busy making some soup.

"Want some soup?" he asked Amelia and she nodded.

Ray set the soup down in front of her and she began to eat slowly.

"Mikey, what happened last night?" she asked in between spoonfuls.

Mikey and Ray looked at one another, unsure of what to say.

"Well, you got angry at me for being overprotective, so you went to the Killjoy Club, which I'm not allowed in," he started.

"According to Frank, you had a lot to drink, and Gerard said you were dancing with this one guy. Then Gerard grabbed you and brought you home. You've been sleeping for almost 12 hours," Ray finished.

Mikey and Ray had both silently agreed to not tell her about her encounter with Beckett until later.

"Oh, okay. Man, never let me do that again! I feel like crap," she said, massaging her temples.

The two of them nodded.

The next few days were, for the most part, uneventful. Amelia mostly stayed in, content with watching television with Frank and playing cards with Ray and Bob. Gerard and Mikey were pretty scarce during that time. They were always at meetings, which was fine with Amelia.

One night, towards the end of her stay, Gerard decided to make dinner for Amelia. Though Frank, Mikey, and he did not need to eat, he thought he would do something special, so he made her fettuccini alfredo. He was out of oregano though, and needed some more. She jumped at the chance to get out of the house again.

Amelia walked to the little spice shop by herself after convincing Mikey that she would be fine on her own. Any trouble and she would call, she had promised. She walked into the shop and was immediately greeted by tons of different aromas and flavors. It was delightfully overwhelming! She grabbed a small basket and began to peruse the shop.

After a few minutes, she found the type of oregano that Gerard was looking for. She walked towards the checkout counter, when suddenly, a familiar voice whispered in her ear, "Hey there, sugar. How you doin'?"

She gasped as a chill rippled up her spine and she dropped the jar of oregano. Her mystery visitor laughed and caught it with ease. He handed it back to her and she turned to look at him. Her eyes widened. There was no way she could mistake that face, those eyes.

"Beckett?" she whispered.

He laughed, low and long. "That's right, baby. I'm back."


	3. Chapter 3

"But…but…that's impossible! We killed you! You should be dead!" she stuttered, and she could feel her heart begin to race.

"You'd think that, wouldn't you? I mean, he really did a number on me. But smoke and mirrors can cover up anything, baby. How've you been lately, doll?" he asked as he went to touch her.

She backed up and her back hit the spice rack. Her eyes fluttered around, looking for an escape.

He laughed again as he stepped closer. "Now, is that really any way to treat me? I mean, just a week ago, you were dancing with me like nobody's business. What's wrong?"

Her eyes widened again. Even in her alcohol-induced haze at the club, he had still seemed familiar.

"You….and me…..we…."

"That's right, and I would have gone all the way had Gerard not shown up. Speaking of friends, how's Adeline doing? I've missed her."

"You leave her out of this!" she said fiercely.

"Now now, honey, what's with all of the hostility? I'm just trying to have a nice conversation."

"Yeah well, I'm not interested," she said as she reached for a bottle of spices. She intended to crack it over his head, but Beckett, smarter than that, grabbed her arm and twisted it backwards. She dropped the spices, which smashed into the floor and shattered.

He stepped closer to her and without warning, bit her. He didn't take much and, stepping back from her, he smiled as he licked his lips.

"Still so delicious, even after all these years," he mused as he turned to walk away. "Oh and Amelia, darling, why don't you give your friends a message for me: Tell them that I'm back and I want revenge. Catch you later, sugar," he said and he laughed again as she quickly paid for the spices and ran out of the store.

Amelia never ran as fast in her life as she ran once she left the spice shop. The demon gave her the ability to run as fast as a vampire. She ran back to the house, and didn't look back.

She burst in the door, breathing heavily. Mikey, Ray, and Bob were watching television and Frank and Gerard were in the kitchen, making dinner.

The moment that she stepped through the door, everyone came to meet her.

"Amelia, you're bleeding. What happened?" Gerard asked as she sank to her knees.

"See? I told you I should have gone with her!" Mikey insisted, but everyone ignored him.

Amelia looked up at the five of them and opened her mouth to try and explain, but instead, tears rolled down her face and she sobbed as horrible memories came flooding back.

Bob knelt down next to Amelia and gently brushed her hair from her neck. There was a set of puncture wounds on her neck. Before he could heal them, Gerard and Mikey both got a whiff of something. They smelled her neck and looked at each other, shocked. Bob healed the wound, and Amelia launched herself at Mikey, still crying.

He rubbed her back and ran his fingers through her hair as she cried. When she had calmed down a bit, he asked her what had happened.

"Well, I went to the shop that Gerard said and I got what he needed. When I went to check out, _he_ was there!" she sniffled.

"Who was there?" Ray asked.

"William Beckett," she said and everyone gasped.

"You talked to him?" Mikey asked.

"He hurt you?" Frank asked, shocked.

She nodded. "He looked different, but it was him. He was the guy I was dancing with when I went to the Killjoy Club! God, how could I have been so stupid!" she asked angrily.

"Don't be too mad, Amelia. You _were_ pretty drunk. I'm surprised you could remember that," Frank said and she nodded.

"Did he say anything else to you?" Mikey wondered.

"He said that he was back, and he wants revenge," she said gravely.

The five of them looked at each other. This was _not_ good.

Gerard let out a small growl. "Nobody threatens you. Not in _my_ city," he said as he got up.

Gerard immediately phoned the police and told them to canvas the entire city for any sign of Beckett.

Even though it was only 7:00, Amelia went to bed, citing mental fatigue and anguish. When the door of her room closed, the five of them went into the kitchen and talked.

"So now we have our proof. He never really died," Frank started and everyone nodded.

"And now he's being bold and making threats in my city," Gerard continued.

"We're not going to let him get away with this. This time, _I'll_ be the one to kill him," Mikey promised.

"What do we do now? Do we dare get Lucian involved?" Bob asked, and Mikey shook his head.

"No. He's not in Budapest. He had to go to some conference in China. He won't be back for a few weeks. If we resolve this quickly, we won't need him."

"But if he didn't die, that means that Brendon and Mike are still at large. And what if he sired more vampires?" Ray brought up, always the logical one.

"What if he didn't? We can take him!" Mikey declared, overconfident.

"I think Ray is right, Mikey. We can't take any risks by assuming he doesn't have help. We're going to need more help if we want to take him down and keep Amelia safe," Bob agreed.

"Well, who can we call?" Gerard asked as he got out a phone book.

"Why not call Sebastien? He helped us out last time," Frank suggested and Mikey nodded.

He called Sebastien.

"Hey Seb, this is Mikey. Listen, we've got a situation in Jersey. How fast can you and your friends get down here?"

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Two hours later, there was a knock at the front door. Mikey opened the door and there stood Sebastien with his four friends. He gave Sebastien a pat on the back and welcomed them in. They all filed in the living room. Seb nodded to Mikey's brother and friends.

"Hi guys. These are my friends Chuck, Pierre, David, and Jeff," he said, pointing to each one.

They all exchanged hellos. Ray got up and shook Jeff's hand.

"It's good to see you again, cousin," he said and Jeff nodded.

"Wait, you guys are related?" Frank asked, obviously confused.

"Not by blood. More like by species. It's just a common courtesy to refer to another oni as 'cousin'," Ray explained.

Everyone nodded.

"Please, sit down," Gerard said, gesturing to the chairs and sofa. The five of them sat down.

"So, what's the problem, Mikey?" Sebastien wanted to know.

"Well, it's not really a new problem. More like a pest that we didn't get rid of," he explained.

"Yeah? Go on."

"There was an incident tonight. Amelia is staying with us and –" Gerard started.

"Seb?" came a voice. Everyone looked over and saw Amelia standing there in her pajamas.

"Good even, my lady. How are you?" Sebastien asked as he walked over and embraced Amelia. She returned his embrace and sat down next to Mikey.

"I'm okay now. I couldn't sleep after what happened."

"What happened?" asked a man with black hair and green eyes.

"I saw someone tonight. Someone who shouldn't even be alive," she said, looking at the ground.

"Who?" Sebastien asked, not liking where this was going.

"William Beckett," she said quietly, but Seb's astute ears picked it up.

"WHAT? Beckett? That's impossible! Lucian killed him! I saw it!" Seb declared and Amelia nodded.

"We all thought we did. Turns out, it was just an illusion created by Carden," Frank explained.

"God damnit! That bastard! How could we have been so stupid? Why didn't we notice?" Sebastien asked angrily as he ran his fingers through his hair.

His friends, upon seeing his anger, shrank back. Around them, he was normally calm and laid back, but with Lady Illshya, it was another story.

"Don't feel bad, Sebastien. None of us noticed it, not even Lucian. It seems that Beckett and his men were more powerful than we expected," Mikey said, trying to ease Sebastien's anger.

"Did he say anything to you, my lady?" Sebastien asked, ignoring Mikey.

"He just said that he was back and he wanted revenge."

Just as Amelia was going to say something else, Gerard's cell phone rang.

"Hello? What? Are you sure? Okay, we'll be right there," he said and hung up.

"What's going on?" Frank asked.

"Cops just called. One of their tracker vamps got a hit on William's scent. A dead body in an alleyway. Mikey and I will go check it out. Bob, while we're gone, I want you to strengthen the wards around the house. I don't want to risk anything," he said as he and Mikey got up.

Bob nodded as the two brothers walked out the door.

"I'm hungry. I'm gonna go make some food," Amelia announced as she walked into the kitchen.

She saw the workings for pasta still on the stove from earlier. She grabbed a fresh pan and put some water in it. She was just about to turn around to put it on the stove when a voice asked, "Need a hand?"

She jumped up in shock and dropped the pan. Two of Seb's friends had followed her into the kitchen. One was a black haired man with green eyes and the other was a brown haired man with brownish eyes.

The black-haired man dove for the pan and caught it before it hit the ground. The other man waved his hands and the water responded by forming into a ball. He carefully directed it back into the pan and the blond man put it on the stove.

"Wow. Sorry about that, I'm still a little jumpy," she apologized.

"No, it's fine. I'm Chuck, by the way, and this is David. Sebastien told us all about what that Beckett guy did. It's horrible," he said.

"Sure was."

Amelia began to chop some vegetables for the pasta. She was busy talking to Chuck while she cut them and accidentally cut her finger instead. Blood dripped slowly from the wound.

She turned around to look for the towel, when she saw the black haired man looking at her strangely. His eyes were gleaming with hunger and he licked his lips. He hissed and lunged at her as Chuck yelled, "David, no!"

He leapt across the island and dove for Amelia. Suddenly, a strong pair of arms wrapped themselves around David's torso and held him back. Sebastien had suddenly appeared behind him and was holding on for dear life.

David struggled, but Sebastien was far stronger.

"David, stop! Stop moving! See, this is why I told you to feed before we left!" he said, snarling slightly.

"But Seb, it smells so good! I just want a taste. Please?"

"Absolutely not! I won't let you!" he declared.

"Seb, let him go," Amelia said softly as she walked over to David.

"If he wants a taste, let him. It'll be easier this way," she said, and Seb huffed, but nodded.

She guided her bleeding finger into his mouth and he gently sucked the blood from the wound. After a few seconds, he pulled back, coughing.

"Not what you thought demon blood would taste like, huh, Dave?" Seb said with a smile.

"Damn, that burns as it goes down. I guess I don't need to try that again," he said.

Sebastien pushed David back into the living room and asked if Frank would go get something to eat with David. The two left the house, and Amelia went back to cooking.

"Here, let me help you with your hand," Chuck offered as Amelia pressed a towel to it.

He took her hand in his and waved his free hand. He guided some of the water from the pan on the stove onto her fingertip. It glowed white and the wound closed up. Then Chuck took the water and put it into a small satchel that rested at his side.

"Oh, I get it now! You're a Waterbender!" Amelia said, feeling stupid for not realizing it before.  
"Yup, sure am. And David's a half-vampire, half-human hybrid."

"Half? Why is he only half?"

"We're not sure. He was only turned about 10 years ago, and his body never fully accepted the change, so he stayed partly human. It's actually easier, because he doesn't have to drink blood every day, he can shift between his vampire state and his human state, and he isn't as violent as a normal vampire," Chuck explained.

"Oh, that makes sense. What about the other two?"

"Well, Pierre is an Earthbender and Jeff is an oni. I think him and Ray are distantly related."

She nodded as she finished up the pasta. She got some for herself and asked if anybody else wanted any. When no one responded, she took her plate and a glass of milk and sat down next to Bob. At that moment, Frank, David, Gerard, and Mikey walked in the door.

The four of them sat down in the living room. Mikey sat next to Amelia, Frank sat next to Mikey, Gerard sat next to Frank, and David sat next to Pierre.

"What did you guys find, Gee?" Ray asked, and everyone else nodded.

"It was definitely William's scent. But Mikey and I went over the entire area with the tracker vamps. Absolutely nothing. It's like he vanished right after killing that guy," Gerard said.

"Yeah, but we told the trackers we wanted them on the case 24/7. We don't want to take a chance," Mikey said.

It was quiet for a minute as everyone looked at each other and Amelia ate her pasta. She finished her supper and set the plate on the floor.

"Hey Mikey," she said, turning to look at the Lycan, "If Beckett is back, you don't think that he would go after AJ, would he?"

Mikey's face was grim.

"I do not know, my lady. I would hope he wouldn't, seeing as she is a hybrid."

"Right. Well, she also has Nina, George, and Chislett with her. I don't think that Beckett would be so stupid as to go after her," Amelia said.


	4. Chapter 4

**************************In California****************************

Adeline giggled happily as she jumped off the plane. It felt good to be back in California! She had had fun backpacking across Europe with George, Nina, and Michael, but she missed California.

She invited George and Nina back to the apartment for some tea before the two had to catch their plane back to Budapest. The four of them walked to the apartment she shared with Amelia.

"Hey AJ, where is Amelia?" asked Chislett as they walked into the building.

"Oh, she's in New Jersey. She's visiting Mikey," she explained as she pushed the button for the elevator.

As soon as the elevator arrived, the four of them stepped onto the elevator and rode it up to the sixth floor. The moment that they stepped off the elevator, though, something was wrong.

"Do you sense that?" George asked, sniffing the air.

"It feels so heavy up here, like there's something there that shouldn't be there," Nina replied.

The four kept walking, but the feeling of dread only increased the closer they got to the apartment. As AJ went to put her key in the door, Chislett grabbed her hand.

"Let me go first. We don't know what's in there," he said, and she nodded.

He put the key in the lock and twisted it. He cautiously opened the door and waited, in case something tried to attack him. When nothing happened, he walked forward, motioning for the others to follow behind him.

When he entered the apartment, his nose was filled with an overwhelmingly familiar scent.

"No way," he muttered quietly.

George closed the door behind them and the four walked into the living room. AJ turned on the light, and noticed someone sitting in Amelia's computer chair.

"Rae, is that you? You're home early," she said as she tried to identify the person by smell, but they were unfamiliar.

The person in the chair spun around slowly, and AJ was slightly relieved when it was only a vampire. He was a young one, with brown hair and brown eyes. He looked lost and slightly scared.

"Hey there, buddy. How did you get in here? Do you need some help?" she asked as she walked over to him.

He didn't say anything, only pointed at the window, which was wide open. This was not good. If the window was open, anyone could have gotten in.

The moment that AJ walked forward, a barrage of fists descended down on the four of them, who were too stunned to fight back. They fell to the ground.

"Now, why don't you guys just stay there?" said a familiar voice, and suddenly, the four felt as if they were unable to move.

Sitting on the floor, dumbfounded, they had no choice but look at the owner of the voice as he came strolling out of AJ's bedroom. AJ let out a gasp and Chislett's eyes widened.

Brendon Urie and Mike Carden had just walked out of the room with two other vampires in tow.

"Wait, what? You guys are supposed to be dead! How are you still alive?" she asked, and Mike reached out and slapped her across the face.

"Shut up, you stupid dirty mutt," he said as he wore his trademark smirk.

She let out a growl, but neither vampire so much as flinched.

"Surprised to see us? I guess you want to know how we survived, don't you?" Brendon asked.

"Wow Brendon, I mean, always knew you were smart, but damn, that takes the cake!" Chislett retorted snarkily, happy when Brendon's face contorted into a snarl.

He ignored him, but continued.

"Well, we were obviously smarter than you guys if Mike here managed to create a giant illusion that fooled all of you –"

"Yeah, and look how you use the past tense, 'were'. What's wrong, not so sure of yourselves when you're up against two werewolves, a vampire, and a hybrid?" Nina taunted.

Brendon stopped mid-sentence and walked over to Nina. He grabbed her chin in his hand and looked deep into her eyes.

"Humph, I know you. You and Twinkle Toes there are friends of John Mitchell. Don't think that we'll go easy on you just because you know him," Brendon threatened.

"Get your hands off of her," George snarled.

"Oh, you don't like it when I touch your mate, do you? Come on then, Twinkle Toes. Do something!" Brendon challenged.

George moved faster than Brendon anticipated and ripped his hand away from Nina.

George could feel the anger flooding his veins as he threw a punch at Brendon. With Brendon distracted, Michael and AJ both got up and turned to look at Carden. AJ lunged at him, wanting to rip his throat out for real this time. Chislett attempted to try and back her up, when she suddenly ran at him, her anger completely redirected.

"AJ, what's going on? It's me, Michael!" he yelled over the commotion as he tried to dodge her fists.

She growled in response and threw more punches at him. Thankfully, he was able to dodge them.

Out of the corner of his eye, he could see one of the vampires that was standing next to Mike smirking. He could sense a power coming from him. That must have been the source of AJ's anger!

He pushed AJ backwards as she ran at him and she crashed into the wall. Chislett took that opportunity to launch a fireball at the vampire. It knocked him back a few steps, and suddenly, the energy he had been sensing stopped.

"You're an empath, aren't you? You were manipulating her emotions," Michael said as he dodged an accidental fist from George.

The vampire laughed. "Wow, aren't you smart? Want a cookie or something?"

"No thank, mate. I'll just settle for killing you," Chislett said with a smirk.

He threw a barrage of fireballs at this vampire, who couldn't dodge them fast enough. As he readied himself for the kill, the vampire who had been sitting at the computer chair came up behind Chislett and placed his hand on the back of his neck. The fireball that was in his hand dissipated completely. He tried to summon another one, but it wouldn't work.

He turned to look at the vampire.

"What the hell did you just do to me, you little milksop?" Michael demanded angrily.

"First off, his name is Ryan," Brendon said as he slammed George into the ground with a thud. "And secondly, he just took away your ability to summon fire. He's a copycat, just like you, but better. He permanently retains the ability, and he can do it through touch. No bite necessary," Brendon said with a triumphant grin.

"You little bugger, I'm going to kill you!" Chislett yelled as he ran at Brendon, this time with sparks of lightning radiating from his hand.

He clearly wasn't expecting to be tackled by Mike and held down in place. He struggled against Mike, but all of the sudden, he felt an overwhelming sensation of calm wash over him. He didn't want to fight Mike anymore. Everything was fine.

"Michael, no!" he heard a voice yell, but he was feeling too good to care about anything except how great he was feeling.

Then he suddenly got really sleepy. The last thing he remembered was a burning pain in his head, and then nothing.

When he regained consciousness, he was sitting upright on a bed. His hands were tied behind his back and there was a putrid-smelling cloth in his mouth. He felt weak, like he had been run over and then backed over by two semi-trucks.

He looked next to him and found AJ slowly coming back to consciousness, bound and gagged like he was. He looked around for George and Nina, but couldn't find them anywhere.

The smells in the room told him that he must be in Amelia's room. He looked up and saw Brendon and Mike sitting in chairs across from them. The three other vampires stood to the side.

"Good to see you guys are both awake. Let's make a little call, shall we?" Mike said as he took out a phone.

"Hey, that's my phone!" AJ protested in a muffled voice, but Mike didn't care.

He sent a text message to someone, who replied moments later.

"Alrighty, let's chat," Brendon said as he opened up a laptop computer.


	5. Chapter 5

*****************************Back in New Jersey********************************

"Beckett would be pretty stupid to go after AJ if she has all of that help with her," Sebastien said, and everyone nodded.

"Speaking of AJ, where is she?" Frank asked.

"She decided to go backpacking through Europe for two weeks with Michael, George, and Nina."

Gerard was silent during this whole exchange before he asked the question that was on everybody's mind.

"Amelia, when was the last time you heard from AJ?"

"Uh, it's been a couple of days. Why?"

"Just wondering," he said.

At that moment, Amelia's cellphone beeped from inside her room. She went to go get it.

"What's up?" Ray asked.

"Just got a text from AJ. She said she's back in California and she wants to Skype and tell me all about her trip," Amelia said as she went back into her room to go get her laptop.

She sat down on the floor and everyone crowded around her. She opened Skype and clicked on AJ's name, which was highlighted in green. It made the call and eventually, AJ picked up.

When the video came into focus, there were two smiling faces looking back at her. Instead of AJ, like she expected, Amelia was looking at Mike Carden and Brendon Urie.

Her throat immediately went dry and it was difficult to breathe.

_"Child, calm down. You can't panic at a time like this," the demon reminded her._

"Hiiiiiii Amelia," Brendon said with a wave and a goofy grin.

"How's it going?" Carden asked, also smiling.

"What the hell have you done with AJ, Michael, George, and Nina?" she asked, her voice hoarse.

"Wow, she won't even say hello to us. How rude. Woulda thought your parents would have taught you better. Oh wait, that's right, you wouldn't know what it's like to have parents, because you killed them!" Brendon taunted, a gleam in his eye.

Amelia gasped. How did he know about that? No one, other than AJ, knew that about Amelia.

"That didn't answer my question. Where are they?" she demanded, keeping her voice level.

"Wow, so pushy. Fine, fine, they're right here," Brendon said as he turned the laptop around. He pointed the camera at the bed, and she saw two figures sitting on a bed. Amelia's bed. It was Michael and AJ! They were both tied up and had something in their mouths.

She couldn't see George or Nina.

"Where are George and Nina?" she asked.

"Oh, you mean Twinkle Toes and that blonde bitch? Don't worry, we let them go. They should be on the way back to Budapest." Mike replied.

Mikey growled. How dare they talk about them like that? Almost as if on cue, Amelia got a call on her cell phone.

"Hello?" she answered.

"Amelia? It's George," came the reply.

"George? Where are you? Are you okay?" she asked.

"Yes, I'm fine, my lady. Nina is here too and she is okay as well. But those men, they have Adeline and Michael!"

"I know, George. I'm talking to them right now. Are you on your way to Budapest?"

"Yes, we are."

"Good. Glad to hear you are safe," she said as she bade him farewell and hung up.

"See? They're fine," Brendon said, and Amelia suddenly realized something. The bed that Chislett and AJ were sitting on seemed familiar.

"You're in my room. How did you get in my room? No one should have been able to break through the wards," Amelia said slowly, her head dizzy with paranoia.

"Well, you'd think that. I mean, Michael here was the only cursebreaker. We have one too, though, and he was able to break through them. I mean, it was difficult. You had this place pretty well secured. But our new guy, he was able to do it," Brendon explained.

"New guy? What new guy?" Sebastien asked.

"Oh hey there, Sebastien. Didn't see you there. How's everything up in dat dere Canada, eh? See you brought your friends, eh? What's that all aboot?" Mike asked, clearly making fun of Sebastien and his friends.

Sebastien growled and bared his razor sharp canines.

"My my, he's awfully touchy, don't you think, Mike?" Brendon remarked.

"Yes, he really is. You know what I realized, Brendon?"

"What's that, Mike?"

"We've also been pretty rude. We haven't even introduced them to our new friends."

"Oh, you're right! How terribly rude of us. Guys, come and say hello."

Three other people walked into the picture. One was a tall, skinny guy with brown hair and brown eyes. One had black hair and dark eyes, with a small amount of stubble. The last one, who looked the least comfortable, had brown hair and kept fidgeting.

"These are the newest members of the Dandies: Ryan Ross, Jon Walker, and Spencer Smith," Brendon said with a grand flourish of his hand.

"Hello, Robert," said the one named Jon.

Everyone turned to look at Bob, who had turned as pale as a ghost.

"Jon Walker," he gulped. "What are you doing with them? I haven't seen you since…" and he trailed off.

"Since the 1939 World's Fair. That was a long time ago. Times have changed and so have I. I decided to get out of Chicago and these guys made me an offer I couldn't refuse," Jon replied, smiling.

Bob sat back in his seat, and held his head in his hands.

"So you got some new sires. Big deal," Frank said.

"Actually, it is a big deal, Frank. You see, Ryan here is a copycat, just like Michael. The only difference is that he can steal people's abilities with just a touch, making him far more deadly than this little pansy. Spencer is a clairvoyant, which is how we knew Adeline over there was coming back tonight. And Jon here can manipulate emotions like nobody's business. So it really is quite a big deal," Brendon replied, smiling.

"Yeah, yeah. What do you want with AJ and Michael?" Gerard asked, waving his hands dismissively.

"Oh, I'm so glad you asked! I'd almost forgotten about them. Mike, why don't you tell them?"

"Gladly. You see, after disgracing William and making him lose control of his city, he wanted revenge. He wanted to make sure that you all suffered in retaliation for wronging him," he began.

"So, what does that have to do with AJ and Michael?" Amelia interjected.

"Well, if you wouldn't be so rude and keep interrupting me, maybe I could tell you," Carden replied with a glare.

"Anyway, in the five years that we've lain low, we recruited new members and we came up with various scenarios as to how we were going to do this. For a while, we were stumped. Then we heard through the grapevine that your friend Adeline here was going to Europe. It was really the perfect opportunity. I mean, the doorman was so nice to let us in when we explained that we were relatives of Adeline's. The wards were a little tough to crack, but Ryan here got the job done."

"You know, for an undead bastard who doesn't need to breathe, you sure do let out a lot of hot air," David remarked, and Mike looked at him.

"That's an awfully snappy remark coming from you. David Desrosiers, 32 years old. Half-vampire, half-human. Bass player for Simple Plan," Mike recited.

"Wow, so you did your research. Big deal," Chuck retorted.

"You're damn right I did, Charles Andre Comeau, Waterbending master and drummer for Simple Plan. Need I say more?" Mike asked.

Everyone was stunned into silence.

"Well, now that they've all shut up, I think it's time we move onto the main event, don't you, Brendon?"

"I agree, Mike."

Brendon got up off of his chair, and Mike turned the laptop around so that it was facing the bed. He walked over to Chislett and took the gag out of his mouth.

Before Brendon had the opportunity to say anything, Chislett used a burst of telekinesis to hurl a chair at Brendon, which knocked him down. As he was going to hit him again, Chislett felt that wave of calm descend over him again. Then Ryan walked over and placed his hand on his head.  
The chair fell from the air, but Ryan caught it with telekinesis and placed it back next to Mike. Brendon got up and grabbed something off the floor.

Amelia exchanged nervous glances with everyone.

"So this is it, huh mate?" Chislett asked.

"Sure is. Say goodnight, Santi," Brendon said as he swung a large scythe.

The scythe sailed through the air and lopped Chislett's head straight off. It tumbled to the floor with a thud as blood spurted from the wound. AJ screamed and tried to get away as blood soaked everything. Then Brendon took a smaller knife and stabbed it into Chislett's chest and the body disintegrated into dust.

He looked at the camera and smiled. "Sleep tight, everyone, and don't lose your heads!"

Then the screen went black as the call ended.


	6. Chapter 6

Amelia was a trained assassin, someone who killed for a living, someone who was used to death. Nothing though, could have prepared her for that. She got up and ran to the kitchen, barely making it to the garbage can before the contents of her stomach forced their way back up through her throat. She coughed and gagged as stomach acid burned her throat. She sank down to her knees and put her hands in her head. She let out a mournful wail and sobbed.

Everyone in the living room was too shocked to say or do anything for a while. After about ten minutes, Mikey walked into the kitchen and picked Amelia up. He rocked gently from side to side as she cried, and rubbed her back.

When she had calmed down, he brought her back into the living room and sat her down on his lap. She trembled in his grasp.

For almost an hour, no one knew what to say or do. Mikey held Amelia tight as she sniffled, afraid of losing her if he let her go.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

As soon as Brendon ended the call on their side of the Skype line, he smiled and turned to Carden.

"Well, looks as though the hybrid's taking it rougher than we thought. You going to do something about that?"

In the background, still tied up and gagged, AJ continued screaming. Her rugby jersey from the trip was soaked with Chislett's blood, and tears streamed down her face. The one vampire she legitly thought she had something with, not by mind control, but by sheer common interest and mutual attraction….was nothing but dust and blood.

"Well, she shouldn't be too hard to subdue…first night we had them at the mansion I got her under control in no time," Carden reasoned, walking over to the bed where the girl was still tied up. He undid the gag and then smirked, letting her know things weren't going to get any better.

"You bastard…once you let me go I'm gonna kill you!" She sobbed, throat sore from screaming.

"Yeah….you really think we're letting you go?" the vampire named Ryan added from across the room.

"You'll pay…Amelia and her friends are going to kill you bastards once and for all!" AJ tried to sound brave, but everything that had just occurred was already taking a toll on her.  
And when Carden climbed up onto the bed, where Chislett had been not five minutes before, AJ realized where it was going. She flinched as his hand rested on her cheek, wiping her tears away. She'd tried desperately to put distance between herself and the vampire but couldn't move.

"This won't be like your first night at the mansion where I had to struggle to pin you down. You're helpless as is. Speaking of being at the mansion…you remember Beckett, don't you? Of course you do, he loved you…and you loved him, until your bitch of a friend told you otherwise. You don't know how jealous I was of him….for being able to control you so effortlessly to the point where he could turn you….that should have been me. I wanted you, and he knew it. By turning you, he only served to make resent the fact, and now I'll fight until your will is as easily broken as it was before."

"Get away from me, or I'll turn." AJ threatened, hoping she could still phase out of sheer willpower while under so much stress.

"Please do, these three have yet to see a lycan in wolf form," Brendon added, motioning to the new vampires.

Carden almost smiled, leaning in closer to her to whisper in her ear, "Really going to be that way, are we?" AJ growled, partially expecting the slap in the face this earned her.

"Even though Beckett turned you, you're still that same stupid mutt I held down in the foyer. He had it harder than I thought, you're a lot less inclined to believe what people say…" he trailed off, and AJ caught him staring at her lips. But a second later he looked into her eyes, and then turned to look at the vampire named Jon. Both nodded.

Suddenly AJ felt like nothing was wrong. She knew that she was with vampires, but they weren't going to hurt her. In fact, she tried to remember – did one of them try to set up a date with her? She blinked, finding one of the vampires sitting next to her on the bed. His gaze was warm, and she could swear he kept looking at her lips.

_"Great….'_ She thought. _'He's probably going to try to kiss me…it's the English pubs all over again.' _And no sooner had she thought that, and then did she find the vampire's lips against her own.

_'Wait….not this again…Beckett was bad enough. I'm not falling for this again!' _AJ thought, snapping out of the eerily calm she'd felt.

"Carden…she's not staying in the emotional barrier," Jon warned.

"She's getting pissed…the only thing that going to keep her from turning on you is if you bite her now," Spencer added worriedly.

Carden reluctantly pulled away from the hybrid, turning her head and without a second thought, sank his fangs into her neck, not bothering to flinch at her gasp. Her blood was still just as good as the first time he'd tasted it, although he could detect the difference now that she was a hybrid.  
**  
**After he'd had his fill, he pulled away, smiling at the marks left on her neck. They would heal, but not before he would startle her friend a little more.

Grabbing her phone, he easily found the camera and then took a picture of her neck, fresh droplets of blood still on her pale skin. The phone clicked as the picture was taken, and then Carden loaded up a picture message and sent it. Setting the phone down, he looked at the blonde.  
She was struggling to keep herself aware of her surroundings, her eyelids fluttering open, her breathing shallow. She kept trying to talk, although she was in a haze.

"Y-You…w-won't g-get…get away with th-this…"

Her lip twitched in a snarl as Carden put a finger against her lips, "Oh, I think we will. And I'll make sure your dreams aren't sweet tonight. But still try to get some rest anyways, with what we have planned for you, you're going to need it."

And with that, he and the others left the room, leaving a confused and scared Adeline behind.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

AJ tried to sleep, close her eyes and focus on breathing. But it was so odd! Just…everything that had happened to her in the past two hours….she wanted it all to be a lie.

Closing her eyes, she was so wanting to slip off. By the time she was finally able to, things were as Carden promised, these dreams were far from sweet.

They were the exact opposite, and it was as though she was reliving the memories of her days under Beckett's control. When she believed he loved her, would protect her, care for her. When she thought it wasn't just a game. Each scene playing in her head only made her heart ache more, the stillness of the room reminding her why these dreams were so bittersweet. Chislett was gone, and here Carden was, taunting her with memories of the past, when love at least had a chance, although its intentions had never been pure.

Sighing, she opened her eyes. Sleep was better off not meeting her tonight. As she thought about those memories and then the ones she'd created with Chislett over the past five years, she began to cry. And as she cried, part of her almost wished, as bad as she knew it sounded, that Beckett had shown up along with Carden and Brendon. Then at least maybe someone would be there to hold her.

Amelia finally lifted her head from Mikey's shoulder, realizing her phone was going off. It was a picture message from AJ. Clicking it open, she wasn't surprised when it wasn't a happy image.

"Hey Gerard?"

"Yes?"

"How soon can you get me a plane ticket out to California?"

"I don't think that's a good idea….if we split up, they could easily take you with them again…but I could get one for the last plane out tonight if you want…why?"

"Look."

Amelia turned the phone, simply saying, "I'm not the only one that's been bit."

The picture wasn't really startling, but once the group thought about who it was, that's when it became disturbing.

Amelia couldn't look at it, knowing it was AJ. Fresh droplets of blood surrounded two puncture marks on her neck, and the only text sent along with the message was, 'This is just the beginning. It's not over.'

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Gerard bought Amelia a plane ticket back to California. On Mikey's insistence, though, David, Sebastien, Jeff, and Bob had gone with her. Gerard, Ray, Frank, Pierre, and Chuck had stayed back in Jersey to keep a lookout for Beckett. The five of them boarded the plane and soon, they were soaring through the skies back to California.

Eventually, they arrived at O'Hare Airport and after being cleared by security, they were allowed to leave. They didn't even bother bringing any luggage with them because Amelia insisted that it would be a quick trip. Amelia led them to the apartment which she and AJ shared. When they walked into the apartment, everything was spotless. It was like Brendon, Mike, and the others had never even been there.

"Well, at least they cleaned up after themselves," David joked, trying to lighten the mood.

Sebastien just shot him a dirty look that told him that this was no time for jokes.

Amelia walked quietly through the apartment, tracing where their feet had walked, eyes scanning over everything. She was looking for some kind of sign, something that would prove that what had happened had actually happened, that it hadn't been just another illusion.

"Hey Mimi, I think you'd better come in here," Sebastien called from inside her bedroom.

She walked into her room and was horrified. The room was just as it had been left when Brendon ended the call. There was a puddle of blood on her bed, surrounded by a pile of ash. She walked over to it and ran her fingers through it sadly.

"What do you want us to do with the ashes?" Sebastien asked.

"Scatter them, right out the window. He deserves to be free after being captured by the likes of them," Amelia said and Seb nodded.

David walked over to the pile of ashes and held out his hand. He created a small current of air which lifted the ashes off of the bed and out of Amelia's window, which was still open.

"You're an Airbender?" she asked, confused.

David nodded. "Yup, I was actually born an Airbender before I became a half-vampire."

Amelia shut the window and walked out of the room. Jeff and Bob were inspecting the kitchen, so Amelia walked into the bathroom. She pulled back the shower curtain, almost expecting something to jump out at her. When she pulled the curtain back, she let out a scream.

Sebastien and David immediately ran into the bathroom and gasped at what they saw. Jeff and Bob followed.

Sitting on the top shelf was Chislett's severed head, the mouth agape as it stared out of lifeless eyes.

"Those sick bastards!" Sebastien exclaimed, angry that they would dishonor his death in such a way.

Amelia stared at it for a moment before realizing his eyes weren't staring at them. They were looking at something else in the room. She followed his gaze and it came to rest on the bathroom mirror. Upon closer inspection, she saw a folded piece of paper sticking out of the corner of the mirror.

"Hey Bob, can you grab that for me?" she asked and he nodded.

He handed her the piece of paper and she looked at it. All it said was "Tune to channel 145".

"What does it mean?" Jeff wanted to know.

Amelia knew what it meant. She walked out into the living room and picked up the remote. She turned on the TV and turned it to channel 145.

When she turned it to the channel, it looked like some sort of grainy video feed. She could see AJ, tied up and most likely unconscious. She gasped.

Just as someone was about to say something, Brendon walked into the picture, wearing his trademark smirk.

"Hey there, guys. I guess you found my little note. Sorry about your friend Michael there. He kind of lost his head, if you know what I mean," he said, smiling.

"What the hell have you done with AJ?" Amelia said.

"Oh her? Well, let's just say that Mike got a little hungry and took a little too much. Don't worry though, we'll take good care of her."  
"What do you want?" Sebastien asked, getting right to the point.

"Oh yes, I almost forgot. William would like to inform you of something. He has a proposal, a little "game" if you will. You see, we've hidden little Adeline here somewhere, and we want you to use your super smart demon skills to come and find her! You have 48 hours to come and find her. If you can manage to locate her within the time, we will let her go and we will leave you alone forever. However, if you don't, we'll kill her on the spot, and we will continue to make your lives hell for all eternity. How does that sound?"

"You won't live long enough to torture us for all eternity once I find you!" Amelia asserted and Brendon laughed.

"My my, you're quite the feisty one, aren't you? That's good, I like 'em like that," he replied with a wink.

"Sorry, not interested."

"Oh well, that doesn't matter. Anyway, do you guys want to play?"

Amelia turned to look at the four guys. They huddled together and talked amongst themselves.

As they did, Brendon began to hum the theme song from Jeopardy.

"Tick tock, tick tock. Time's a-wastin'!" he called.

They eventually decided to play their little game, if for nothing more than to save AJ.

"I'm so glad you guys decided to play! William will be pleased. Oh, and before I go, I should tell you: Where we are, it's already tomorrow, so you now only have 36 hours to come and find her. Toodaloo!" he said with a wave, and the video feed cut out.

Amelia felt the rage flood her entire being! How dare they treat her best friend's life like a game! In a fit of rage, she took out a knife from her pocket and threw it at the TV, smashing the screen in. As she angrily retrieved her knife, she turned to Bob, who was the most skilled with technology.

"Do you think you could track that?"

"Well, I could have been able to track it before you smashed it," he deadpanned and she yelled in frustration. Before she could smash anything else, Sebastien put a hand on her shoulder.

"Come on, Amelia. Let's go back to New Jersey. We need to regroup with everyone," he suggested and she nodded.

"What should we do with the head?" Jeff asked.

"Let's send it back to Australia, so that it can be properly buried," Amelia said and he nodded.

They literally shipped the vampire's severed head back to Australia, with a note explaining the situation and requesting that it be properly buried.

Then Bob recited a transportation spell, which sent them all back to Jersey.


	7. Chapter 7

AJ slowly woke up, realizing she damn well wasn't in California anymore. To make things worse, the four vampires from before were still there, watching her.

"Hey sweetie, glad to see you're awake! Hope the trip wasn't too rough on you…" Carden said smiling, and for a minute AJ almost thought he was trying to be like Beckett after she'd fallen 'in love' with him.  
Her only response was to curl her lip and growl, trying to find a way out.

"I wouldn't struggle if I were you. You're not going anywhere anytime soon. Your friends are playing this little game, you see, and you're the prize." Brendon said, sarcastic glee seeping in every word.

"Pr-Prize?"

"William wants revenge. And what better way to go about obtaining it then to start with the one that caused his downfall?"

"I did nothing of the sort!" she protested, though her eyes widened as she realized he had a point.

"Oh, but you did. By go out hunting that night, you brought back that demon…your old friend, although you didn't recognize her that moment. But you came to eventually, and the beginning of the end had began. But back to my point, your friends have 36 hours to find you. If they don't….well, dear, you die."

"Ha. Amelia will find me, I'm sure of it. And besides…where I am, some old penitentiary or boarding school in Cali? Piece of cake," AJ gloated, not catching the smirk on the vampire's faces.

"We're not in the states, mutt." Ryan added.

"Well then where are we?"

"Ireland. The Emerald Isle. Hell, if you want, most natives call it 'Eire'…either way it's a long way from where we were." Jon supplied, aimlessly walking back and forth, restless due to his age.

"Ireland? Why not China? Australia? Then I could've seen Keith Urban again! Oh, he does an amazing live show…" AJ wondered, momentarily trying to remember why she was there in the first place.

"Well, we were thinking Shanghai, but that would make it too easy for your friend."

"And why's that?"

"Stupid mutt, didn't you ever think of where the term 'shanghai-ing' came from?"

"Well...you don't need to be so mean about it...and oh, I'm a history buff too, wanna hear? World war one started in 1914 with the assassination of-"

At the moment Carden grabbed the small role of duck tape they'd managed to find, and ripped a section off, placing it over AJ's mouth.

Brendon rolled his eyes, "How long you think that'll shut her up for?"

"Hopefully, long enough."

The two could still hear the hybrid's muffled voice, still trying to annoy them.

"Should I just bite her again? It's practically free food," Carden joked.

"I suppose you could, but when William gets here I don't want him getting mad and us because we didn't save the bait."

"Good enough for me. Just make sure she doesn't go unconscious again…I'll never hear the end of it."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

(Back in Jersey)  
"Amelia! What'd you guys find? Where's Adeline?" Ray asked, calling for the others the moment he saw Bob and the group arrive.

"Well…long story. We'd better all go sit down."

After Ray and the group went back into the house, Amelia sat down in between Gerard and Mikey.

"Well…I got into our apartment, and mostly everything was clean, until we got to my room…We scattered Chislett's ashes and then I went into the bathroom and found a note. It told me to turn on my TV, I did and-and…"

"Brendon and Carden have AJ. They're playing this sick game…we have 36 hours to find her or she dies." Bob finished for Amelia, who still was both too shocked and angry that they were using AJ as a pawn to speak.

"They wouldn't kill her…she's part lycan, she could easily kill them before they touch her…"

"Yeah and we all thought her and Chislett would be fine…look what happened to him." Mikey deadpanned.

"Could you figure out where they took her?" Gerard asked.

"Well…Bob would've been able to track in had I not thrown a knife at the screen…"

"I meant clues."

"Brendon said where they were it was the next day already, so it's somewhere across the Atlantic. Knowing them, they wouldn't take her somewhere obvious…Shanghai's a hell no, the concept's too obvious. Might have been Australia, but I'd think killing Chislett would be enough to torture her."

"What other places do you think they'd travel to? I'd think it'd be high class, after all this is the Dandies we're talking about." Frank added, making a decent point.

The group sat in contemplative quiet for the next few hours, making lists of places the hybrid could be being held. As they crossed them out, Amelia had a lightbulb moment.

"Oh! I'm such an idiot! High class? Around the world? What's classier than a castle in the highlands?"

"Highlands? You mean like Scotland?" Seb wondered.

"Well, it's either there or…IRELAND! AJ always said she'd wanted to go there…It makes now how if they took her that's where they'd go…somewhere she's dreamed of, but wouldn't be able to enjoy it."

"Great…now we only have 36 hours to find her. Which castle in Ireland?" Mikey asked, eager to find AJ so he could find Carden, and in doing so, rip his throat out, yet again.

"That's the problem…Ireland only has over 100 of them…"

"Lovely. Just lovely."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

AJ remembered being untied, and then locked into a bedroom. It was furnished nicely, old paintings still hanging on the walls and an antique mirror sitting on the dresser. The bed even had sheets and fluffy pillows!

"Why are you being so nice to me? I thought you guys were-"

"It's your last day alive…it's the thing to do. Keep you comfortable, you know? And besides, wait until you figure out who your special guest is…" Carden said, smiling as he poked his head in the door, throwing her a bag of blood, which she opened graciously and drank, although she didn't really like it.  
"Who's that?"

"You'll just have to wait and see… " he trailed off, she could hear Brendon laughing in the other room, "Revenge is bittersweet, isn't it?"

"That it is. So…I'd enjoy what time you have left…the clock's ticking." He said ominously, waiting for any sign of fear from the girl. Instead, all he could sense was anticipation.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Amelia, Seb, Mikey, Frank, Jeff and David managed to find decent airfare to Ireland while the others decided to stay back in Jersey to keep a handle on the situation and keep watch for anything else going on.

"Wow….never thought I'd be coming here without her….at least, not in a live or die sense," Amelia mused as she looked out the window on the flight out.

"It is a beautiful country though. Manage to think of any castles we could check out?" David asked, flipping through a People magazine.

"Well…I've been going through Wikipedia looking for castles that are still in use today, something our Dandies would like living in, and found enough to keep us busy. In Cork there's Barryscourt, Blackwater, Widenham, Kilbrittain…In Dublin there's Howth, Dunsoghly, Drimnagh, Malahide, Rathfarmham…how are we ever going to find her?"

"Can I see that list?" Jeff asked, and Amelia passed it to him.

"Hm. Well, out of this list, the counties of Kikenny and Meath have two castles that are ideal for our Dandies to live in. What if we checked these first and then split up to cover the larger areas of Dublin, Cork, Galway and Tipperary?"

The others nodded.

"Great. How much time do we have to do all this in?" Amelia asked, feeling the demon growing nervous, although the only thing to be nervous about was AJ's safety.

Frank looked at his phone from his seat beside Amelia, "About 26 hours…just over a day. Hope you guys are up for not sleeping..."

"So….where do we start?"

"Kilkenny? There's a castle named after the county itself. Why don't we start there, it makes it easy." Jeff suggested.

"Alright…we land in half an hour…I'm gonna try to take a nap 'til then. Wake me up when we land, will you?" She asked Mikey, who nodded.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Speaking of sleep, it seemed like the perfect thing for AJ to do. She didn't have much else to do seeing as she was held captive once again, and the time difference from LA only made things worse. Knowing it was only 4 in LA, AJ cringed when she realized it really was bedtime in Ireland, it being midnight where she currently was.

She lay down on the bed and closed her eyes. Here she was, in Ireland, but unable to enjoy the beauty of the country, stuck inside a castle. But wait…this all looked familiar, the room she been in when she'd woke….this wasn't THAT castle, was it? If it was, suddenly being stuck here didn't feel so bad.

Slipping into dreams of the U2 boys recording in these same halls, AJ found herself listening in on the beginnings of 1984's The Unforgettable Fire. She didn't know how much time had passed, but oh, this dream was so real! Had the guitarist just hugged her?

Opening her eyes, AJ was surprised to find actual arms around her.

_'Some drugs they must've slipped me,'_ she mused sleepily, rolling over. She furrowed her brow in confusion at who was facing her, a slight smile on his face. As she went to put a hand to her mouth in shock, Beckett laughed.

"Oh, love….don't shy away. I've missed you."


	8. Chapter 8

AJ immediately slid back on the bed, falling off with a low thud to the floor.

"Y-You're d-dead! I sn-snapped your neck! H-How…" Her eyes widened as Beckett followed her, leaning  
over the edge of the bed.

"Yeah, about that…there's a little concept called a fake out. Like the magicians…illusions have to be seen to be believed."

"B-But I-I…"

"I won't hurt you this time. I promise. Heard you lost a friend, so you're…" Beckett paused, allowing AJ to relieve the memory from about two days ago, "Lonely."

He smiled at the hurt crossing her face; his words had hit their mark.

"What's it to you?"

"Now, no need to be so defensive…I'm only trying to comfort you," he explained, getting up to where she sat on the floor, picking her up despite her protests and setting her on the bed. Why wasn't she  
fighting back? Was it possible she remembered?

"It's your last day alive…you want someone with you, don't you?"

"I…" she blinked as he set a finger against her lips, and then leaned in and kissed her neck, right where he'd turned her. Immediately memories came flooding back; and in turn the dark feelings – denial, sadness, loneliness. She knew she couldn't let herself be controlled again, but still she…was it wrong if she played into his game? If Amelia couldn't make it to her in time, she would die…and when people are about to die they often make stupid decisions.

Beckett looked at her, "If every female had your mindset, there'd be more vampires then humans in the world. Your loneliness has blinded you, and now you miss-" One of his hands caressed her cheek, involuntarily sending a shudder through her, causing her to bit her lip. "Simple actions like this."

His hand didn't move, but his pinkie drifted over her lips, making them tingle. Her entire body twitched at the shiver seemingly 'stuck' in her spine, but as she looked into Beckett's brown eyes she knew what she'd decided.

_'I'm sorry…Lucian, Amelia….I'm sorry.'_

And as if Beckett had read her mind, he smiled, his hand moving across her body, reaching for the straps of her tank top. Absentmindedly she returned his smile, blinking as he leaned down to kiss her.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"I swear to god, if this is another, 'Sorry Mario, the princess is in another castle' scene, I'm going to kill you, Jeff." Frank said semi-joking as the six headed towards Slane Castle, in county Meath.

"She's got to be in this one! It's Slane Castle, and seeing as we only have an hour to find her after switching the plans by going to Dublin and checking out all of those castles first, she better be here."

"Guys, calm down…I SEE THE CASTLE!" Amelia yelled, taking off at a run toward the large stone structure.

Sebastien sighed.

"And she tells us to calm down while she goes running off like a five year old to sit on Santa's lap."

Jeff and David looked at him, the three shaking their heads, a shared laugh between them.

"Girls."

Suddenly, Mikey's phone rang. As he answered it, he yelled at Seb, "Seb! Go grab Mimi before she does something stupid!"

Seb sprinted off after the excited demon and Mikey answered his phone.

"Hello?"

"Mikey? It's Bob," came the voice on the other end.

"Hey Bob, what's up?"

"Have you guys found the castle yet?"

"Yeah, I think we have. Why? What's going on?" Mikey asked as he walked away from the group so he could hear Bob over Amelia's shouting.

Bob was quiet, and for a second, Mikey almost thought that call was dropped.

"Just...be careful, man. Be careful," Bob said at last, and Mikey could hear a significant amount of fear and trepidation in the wizard's voice.

"I will."

"I mean it. Watch out for the one named Jon Walker. He's...he's a beast, man. If you aren't careful, he'll completely turn you against your friends. You won't even know what happened until it's too late."

"Thanks for the advice, Bob, but why are you telling me this now?" Mikey asked, growing worried.

Bob was the rock. He was like the glue that held everything together. To hear such worry in his normally stoic demeanor was unsettling for Mikey.

"I don't want you to make the same mistake I did, when dealing with Jon Walker."

"What happened?"

"He made me kill my wife, Laura," Bob said and Mikey stopped.

He didn't know that Bob used to be married.

"He manipulated my emotions, turned it into pure rage. I couldn't help it. Before I knew what had happened, Laura was dead. I used an Unforgivable Curse on her. Mikey, if you do one thing, promise me you'll be careful when you go up against Jon Walker. Please," Bob pleaded and his voice cracked with emotion.

Mikey swallowed the lump that had formed in his throat and took a deep breath.

"I promise, man. I'll be careful."

"Thanks, Mikey. Call us before you come home."

"I will," Mikey said as he hung up.

"What was that about?" Jeff asked as Mikey went to rejoin the group.

"Bob just wanted to wish us good luck," Mikey replied, not wanting to scare everyone with what Bob had actually told him.

"Hm…" AJ sighed contentedly as Beckett rested his forehead against hers, both breathing heavily. He searched her hazel eyes for any sign of discomfort, but all he saw was the hybrid's lust dissipating.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing….I just…" he could tell she was struggling for words, and the thought of her confused made him smile.

"Missed being wrapped in your arms, that's all." She concluded, lifting her head to kiss his chest. Sure, after five years you'd think she would have moved on, forgot what he'd done to her, how she'd been used. But that memory, like his venom in her bloodstream, never truly faded.

"I'd imagine so…so tell me, how were Brendon and Mike treating you before my arrival?"

"Uh…Mike kept calling me a mutt…I'm not a mutt, though. Am I?" She asked innocently, one hand reaching up to run through his hair.

AJ noticed it was shorter, and she thought he looked more…of the era. Younger was the easier way to put it, because instead of being born in 1712 like she knew was, it looked like he'd been but a twenty-something in the 1950's or 60's.

Beckett smiled, revealing his fangs, tips stained from her blood, "No, my love. You'll never be a mutt in my eyes…"

She paused, tilting her head, "Wait…I don't…I'm not under your control again am I? I don't think I love you…"

He laughed, "No, you're not…I just remember you as such, I suppose. But you can't deny yourself that you like how I'm addressing you."

She nodded, "It's nice, I just wish Michael was still al-…It was you! You're the one that put Brendon and Carden up to killing him!" She yelled, realization washing over her. Why hadn't she realized that in the first place?

Beckett's smile turned to a smirk as his grip tightened around her.

"How long did that take you to figure that out? It's a shame he had to die, but darling, I need my revenge. It's why I'm here actually. See, Mike wants to be the one to kill you; he doesn't realize I know that he resents me for siring you. I know he thinks it should have been him. That's where I come in. Instead of killing you right when those hours are up, I'm going to wait until your little 'rescue party' arrives, and make them watch." He explained.

AJ gulped. That was the last thing she needed.

"But don't worry," Beckett soothed, kissing her nose, "We've still got all morning to be together. Mike and the boys have been told not to attack should your friends arrive. We'll wait, until they see us together, and then…well, I trust you know your death is imminent?"

AJ wasn't listening, she was praying Amelia would find her and get her the hell out of Dodge. She'd play his little game, but the minute Amelia found her, it was time for action.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Amelia, Seb, David, Jeff, Mikey and Frank approached the great wooden doors to the castle, surprised to find them already open. Suddenly it hit Amelia why this castle was so important.

U2 had played here in 2001, filming a concert, partly because the land surrounding the castle created a natural amphitheater.

The group walked inside, surprised that Brendon, Carden and the others weren't nearby. Were they sleeping? What got to her and startled her, was that she could hear voices from the kitchen.

"Did you know U2 played here a few years ago?" It sounded like AJ.

"Really? That must have been quite the concert to attend."

There was no way Amelia could mistake that voice. She walked slowly, trying to hear the rest of their conversation.

"Do you think this whole blood pudding will work? I don't think it'll thicken since I haven't added anything to-"

"Well, if it doesn't, there's always these." Amelia's eyes widened as she saw the blood bag being held in the air, Beckett was holding it above his head.

She moved closer, not expecting what she saw. Beckett was smiling, did this mean AJ was under his control again?

AJ leaned back against him and reached for the bag, one of his arms around her waist.

"William! Give me that, I'm thir-"

"Adeline Jeanette, what the hell do you think you're doing?" Amelia yelled, finally exposing herself, Seb and the others behind her.

"Oh? Uh…." AJ's face got even paler as she realized how bad the situation looked. "H-hi Rae!"


	9. Chapter 9

Amelia let out a curse in Spanish as she glared at AJ.

"My, you certainly do have a mouth on you. Wonder what else it's good for?" William asked as he winked at her.

"Can someone say pedophile?" Frank muttered under his breath, but William caught it.

"Oh, and what do we have here? It's the eighth dwarf, on break from the mines. Shouldn't you be high-ho-ing your way back, little one?" Beckett sneered.

"I'm sorry, did you say something, your highness? It was difficult to hear you with your head so far up your ass," Frank retorted hotly as he stepped towards Beckett, his hands ablaze with fire.

At the last second, Mikey put his hand on Frank's shoulder. Frank, though he was angry, respected Mikey enough to stop.

"Cut the shit talking, Beckett. We've found Adeline within the time limit. Now it's your turn to hold up your end of the deal," Mikey growled.

"But what's the fun in that? If this is the end, I want to go out with a bang!" Beckett exclaimed as he grabbed AJ and held a knife to her throat.

Everyone immediately went on the defensive and not a moment too soon.

Mikey barely had time to duck as a fist came into his field of vision. Crouching low, he pushed off from the ground and tackled the body that had appeared in front of him. Not surprisingly, it was Mike Carden, who just grinned at Mikey.

"What's wrong, mutt? Cat got your tongue?" he asked as he flipped Mikey off of him and pinned him to the ground.

Meanwhile, Brendon and the three new vampires had come out of nowhere and were fighting the remaining five.

Frank, despite being four inches shorter than Brendon, moved with lightning fast speed. He was able to scorch his clothes and was delighted when he managed to connect with Brendon's cold flesh.

Sebastien immediately phased and went for William. Though he knew that he was supposed to try and kill Beckett without harming Adeline, all that mattered now was revenge. He swiped and bit at the Dandies' leader, who dodged them all with a certain fluidity that only caused to annoy him more.

Jeff and David took on the three new vampires, with Amelia backing them up. David was a pretty good Airbender, who launched razor sharp currents of air at the three vampires, who weren't nearly fast enough to avoid them. Jeff, being an oni like Ray, unclipped his power bracelet and tackled one of the younger vampires. Poor guy didn't even know what hit him, literally. Jeff heard some of the vampire's bones break, and was satisfied.

Amelia was having a staredown with the vampire named Jon Walker. He taunted her, trying to get her to make the first move. Amelia though, was no dummy. She knew what he was doing, and waited for him to make the first move.

Things were not moving fast enough for Jon Walker, who only smiled at Amelia as he began to work his magic.

As Amelia watched him with eyes like a hawk, she felt herself becoming more and more agitated. It spread throughout her entire body like wildfire. Soon, it was all consuming, emanating from every pore.

Then, she snapped.

She could feel the demon growing restless, and eventually, her body began to change. Normally, Amelia could will herself into shifting into the demon's form, but this time, she had no control. She fell to the ground, screaming with the pain of the possession.

_"My lady, what's going on? Why are you doing this!" she screamed inside her head._

_"Child, it is not my doing. It is the will of the vampire over there. There isn't anything I can do to stop it," the demon replied._

The moment that Mikey heard Amelia scream, he stopped, which allowed Carden to get in a nice right hook to the face. As Mikey stumbled backwards from the impact of the blow, he immediately looked over at her. She was writhing on the ground and Mikey could sense a large amount of energy coming from her. She was going to transform into the demon.

He looked at who she was fighting, and suddenly, Bob's warning clicked into place.

_"He manipulated my emotions, turned it into pure rage. Mikey, if you do one thing, promise me you'll be careful when you go up against Jon Walker."_

At once, Mikey knew what was going on. Jon was manipulating her emotions so that all she felt was anger and hatred, forcing the demon to take control. Mikey turned and ran at Jon. He tackled him to the ground, enough to break his concentration.

Amelia stopped moving, and for a moment, Mikey wasn't sure what had happened. Then she slowly sat up and he let out a breath he didn't know he had been holding in and sighed in relief. Then he remembered the vampire under him and gave him a nice punch in the face, glad when he heard bones break.

He ran over to Amelia and helped her up. She didn't look too good. Her eyes were unfocused and she felt weak in his arms. Just as her legs gave out, he heard William yell, "Well, gentlemen and demoness, it's been fun, but I'm afraid we must go."

He said something else, but it was drowned out by the sound of a huge explosion. Suddenly, small bits of rock began to fall as the castle crumbled all around them. Mikey looked at the others, who had stopped fighting and instead began to look for an exit. The six of them ran out of the castle, barely making it out before the whole structure tumbled down.

The explosion echoed throughout the entire county as a cloud of debris came rushing at them. Mikey covered Amelia with his body as David blasted a hole in the middle of the cloud with an impressive display of Airbending. As the smoke cleared, they made sure that everyone was okay.

It looked like everything was fine, until they heard a voice say from above them, "Mikey Way, Amelia Clearwater, Sebastien Lefebvre, David Desrosiers, Frank Iero, and Jean-Francois Stinco, you are all under arrest for the destruction of the Slane Castle here in County Meathe, Ireland. You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say or do will be taken down and used as evidence."

The six of them were handcuffed and thrown into a paddywagon and taken away to the local jail. After being fingerprinted and having all of their weapons confiscated, they were placed in a large holding cell where they were waiting for their sentences.

"Great, so the Dandies escaped with AJ and now we're sitting here in jail!" Amelia grumbled.

The others nodded in agreement.

They sat in the cell for almost an hour before a warden came by and announced that they were being let go. As they walked out of the cell, they wondered what had happened.

"Amelia Raven Clearwater, you never cease to amaze me. I swear, it's people like you that keep me young at heart," said a voice with a thick Irish accent as a man with curly black hair walked into the hallway.

"Mitchell!" she shouted as she ran at the man and hugged him.

"Guys, this is John Mitchell. He's a friend of George and Nina's. How did you know where to find us?" she asked.

"Well, I came back to Ireland for a bit of business, and good thing I did. George called me up the other day babbling about being kidnapped by some vampires and saying they had an interest in you. Well, you know how George gets all excited. He kept saying, "They're going to Ireland! They're going to Ireland!", so naturally I came back too. When I heard that a demon, two werewolves, two vampires and an oni were arrested for blowing up a castle, I knew I should come and help," he explained.

"How did you get them to let us out? Are you a diplomat or something?" David asked.

Mitchell laughed. "No, not really. People just kind of respect me here. Plus, the warden owed me a favor."

He helped the six of them get their weapons back and escorted them to the airport. He bade them farewell before they all boarded a plane back to Jersey.

"Well, looks like we're back at square one. The Dandies still have Adeline, and now we lost track of them. Just freaking lovely," Frank complained as he curled up in his chair and went to sleep.

_"Don't worry, AJ, we'll find you," Amelia thought as she too, drifted off to sleep._


	10. Chapter 10

The next few days were actually normal. Amelia had come out of her room and was even joking around with the other guys. For a moment, she almost forgot that they were all in serious danger with Beckett at large. Almost a week after the incident in Ireland, Gerard asked Amelia to get the mail for him. She obliged and got the mail.

Most of the mail was bills and stuff, but something bright caught her eye. It was a postcard. On the front, it had an immaculate white house. There was no return address on the back, and it was only addressed to Amelia. In a neat and fancy script, someone had written, "In the end, we all return to our roots."

"Hey Mimi, what'cha got there?" David asked when she walked in the room and handed the mail to Gerard.

"I dunno, it's a postcard from somewhere. Wonder who it's from?"

"Is there a return address?" Chuck asked as Mikey grabbed the postcard from her hand and sniffed it.

Amelia shook her head. "Nope. It's only addressed to me, and it just says 'In the end, we all return to our roots.' Mikey, why did you just smell it?"

He shrugged. "I wanted to see if I could track a scent. There was nothing."

"Do you think it could be from Beckett?" Ray thought out loud.

"Could be. Let's do some research," Frank suggested.

Amelia grabbed her laptop, as did Mikey. Sebastien, David, Chuck, and Ray went to the local library to use their computers.

Gerard, Frank, Pierre, Jeff, and Bob gathered around the two with the computers.

"So, how should we go about this? It's not like we can just type in 'big white house' to Google and expect to get a good answer," Mikey stated.

"Well, most of you guys are pretty old, no offense. Do you recognize the architecture at all?" Amelia asked as she opened up a Youtube page. She put on some music and went back to Google as the guys stared at the postcard.

"Hey Mimi, what are we listening to?" Pierre asked as they inspected the postcard.

"Oh, it's called 'Roots Bloody Roots' by Sepultura," she replied as she typed some stuff into Google.

"So if Beckett sent this, what do you think it could mean? I mean, trees have roots. Trees are symbolic of power, so maybe he went somewhere with a lot of trees?" Ray asked, trying to come up with an idea.

"Maybe, but that seems too easy for Beckett. What if he -" Gerard started to say before Amelia cut him off.

"Wait! I got it!"

"What do you mean?" Mikey asked.

"Well, I was listening to the song, and in 'Roots Bloody Roots', Max Cavalera says "I'll take you to a place where we can find our roots bloody roots". What if Beckett took AJ to his roots? Where he originally came from? That would make sense as to why the postcard says that we all return to our roots in the end," Amelia hypothesized.

Everyone looked at one another and sort of nodded in agreement. It was better than anything else they'd thought of so far.

Amelia grabbed her phone and called Seb.

"Hey Seb, it's Mimi. Listen, can you do some research and try and uncover where Beckett is originally from? We think he took AJ back to his roots and so we need to find out where he came from. Think you can do that? You can? Great, call us if you find anything," Amelia said and hung up.

"You guys keep researching. Look for anything that include William Beckett or where he came from. I'm going to make a phone call," Amelia said as she got up.

She walked into the kitchen and walked out onto the back porch. She flipped open her phone and called Patrick. He picked up after two rings.

"Hello?"

"Hey Patrick, it's Amelia."

"Hey Amelia, how's it going?"

"Not too good, Patrick. We've got a situation here in Jersey. It turns out that William Beckett never died when we killed him last year. And now he's gone and kidnapped AJ." Amelia said in one breath and Patrick choked on whatever he must have been eating.

"Jeeze, Amelia, way to just drop the bomb on me. That doesn't surprise me, though. I've been hearing rumors of that for years. Anyway, where is he now?"

"Well, we don't know. He took AJ and just recently sent us a postcard that leads us to believe he might be going back to his original homeland, wherever that is. I was calling because I hoped you had some inkling of an idea as to where he's from."

Patrick was silent for a moment as he thought. "Well, I don't know anything personally, but I have some associates who might know some stuff. Let me ask around and I'll get back to you in a few days, okay?"

"Sounds great, Patrick, thanks."

Amelia closed her phone and went back inside.

"Anything?" she asked, and the guys all shook their heads.

"Well, we'll just have to keep looking. Patrick said that he didn't know anything, but he'd talk to some people and let me know," Amelia said as she sat down at her computer.

Three hours later, Seb returned with the others.

"Did you find anything?" Frank asked.

"Nope, not a damn thing. There were little blurbs on Beckett here and there, but nothing significant. He hardly has a paper trail," Seb reported as he flopped down onto the couch next to Mikey.

"We checked and cross-checked everything. It's like he's a goddamned ghost!" Chuck fumed.

"Well, if it makes you feel better, we didn't find anything, either. Amelia called Patrick and he said he'd look into it, but I doubt he's going to find anything. Is there anyone else who would possibly know anything about him?" Gerard questioned.

"Gabe Saporta would have been our best bet, but we killed him. Who else do we know that was close to him?" Amelia asked as her cellphone rang.

"Hello, Amelia? It's Patrick. I have some good news. One of my associates has agreed to talk to you. How soon can you guys make it out to Milwaukee?"

********************************************************************************************************  
The next night, Mikey, Amelia, Sebastien, Chuck, and Bob were on a flight from Jersey to Milwaukee. They collected their things from the concourse and walked outside. The spring rain fell around them, and Chuck used his waterbending to deflect the water.

"Do you have the address?" Mikey asked Amelia.

"Of course I do. It says that he wants to meet in the lobby of the Pfister Hotel," Amelia said as she flagged down a shuttle that was leaving the airport.

The five of them walked onto the bus and told the driver where they wanted to go. 20 minutes later, they stopped in front of the hotel. They thanked the driver and walked into the lobby.

The hotel was immaculate, with lavish Victorian art and a grand staircase in the middle of it. Amelia stared in awe. Who knew that something so beautiful was located in Milwaukee?

"So how do we know who this guy is?" Chuck asked.

"Patrick said that we'd be able to identify him by smell. He said that, according to Pete, he smells like a combination of oil paints, sweat, and woodworking," Amelia said as she looked to Mikey and Sebastien.

The two of them sniffed the air and then walked away from the group. Everyone else followed behind them. They stopped to rest at a large plush chair that was situated in front of a roaring fire.

"Are you our contact from Patrick?" Bob asked.

"I am. Glad to see you showed up," the man said as he stood up and turned around to shake someone's hand.

When he turned around, everyone gasped, and the man himself turned as pale as a sheet. Patrick's contact turned out to be none other than The Butcher, one of William's old men.


	11. Chapter 11

Mikey and Sebastien immediately went on the defensive.

"What? You? You're the informant?" Mikey asked incredulously.

"Well, it makes sense, if you ask me. I mean, he _did_ run off with his tail in between his legs when we fought him five years ago. So, pansy, I see you're in the business of selling secrets now. Why?" Sebastien taunted, baring his teeth.

Amelia smacked Sebastien lightly on the chest.

"Knock it off, you two. We don't need our only source of information to run off on us now. Butcher, I apologize for their behavior. What can you tell us about William's past?" Amelia said, trying to smooth over the situation.

He laughed nervously as he sat down again. Amelia sat in the chair next to him and the guys stood around her.

"I still don't really see why I should tell you. I still resent the fact that you killed my best friend."

"You mean Sisky? We didn't kill him, Chislett did. And, uh, he's dead too, Brendon and Carden killed him." Butcher blinked, confused.

"How could they have killed him? You," he looked at Mikey and Seb, "Killed them. I saw it before I ran off…"

"Uh, well….the entire battle was an illusion created by Mike Carden. They're not dead and now Beckett has kidnapped my best friend and where they went we have no idea. We need to find out so we can save her," Amelia explained.

Butcher laughed, "Huh. So you only want to find out about William's past because you need to save your friend. Wait a minute….is this friend the one we captured five years ago with you? The same one William bit?"

Everyone nodded.

"Oh, okay…..I get it now. Seems she's adjusted well to the Dandie lifestyle. The new house fits them well, now I'm just waiting 'til the save the date…" he replied, smiling at Amelia's shocked expression.

Seb's eyes widened as he turned to her, "She's called him? Maybe Beckett talked her into it…"

"Talked her into it, heh, my ass…but Save-the-dates? There's no way she'd…okay, in retrospect it sounds like her, but…"

"She's just trying to get into your head, make you worry." Mikey threw in.

"So…about Beckett…do you have any idea where he'd be?" she asked.

The tattooed vampire shrugged and grinned, as though he was enjoying leading the group before him on with possible answers.

"Well, it's not the first thing you'd think of. Fact it's probably the last place you'd look."

"Cryptic much?" Chuck stated, receiving nods in agreement.

"But you do know where, right? At least the area or the state?" Bob pressed.

"If I told you now, that would be too easy. I could give you a clue, but…it can't be anything too simple. Mind games are fun, wouldn't you say?"

Sebastien, growing irritated with the Butcher's refusal to comply, took matters into his own hands. He growled and grabbed Butcher by the neck of his shirt. He pulled him close as he whispered, "You'd better tell us right now you motherf*cker, or I swear to God, I'll rip your entrails out and eat them."

"Okay, okay, jeeze. I was just kidding. Well…the locals know there's more to life then death, and have an entire belief system that a wizard like you may appreciate. But just remember, nothing is ever as it seems."

And with that, the Butcher looked over each of the people in front of him and then turned to face the fire.

"Can't you tell us more?" Mikey asked.

"I wish I could, but…honestly, there's not much I know about him. Sisky had more of a bond with him then I did. You'd better be going…the girl doesn't have much time if Brendon and Mike are in the same vincinity."

Amelia nodded; his riddle alone had given them a clue. The trail hadn't gone cold, but it had thinned.

As Bob recited a teleportation spell to send them back to Jersey, the group discussed what had occurred.

"Some help he was. Should've killed him." Mikey grumbled as they walked into the house.

"You guys find anything?" David asked.

"Yeah, trouble." Chuck replied, laughing.

"How so?"

"Well, the guy Patrick set up for us to meet with? It was one of Beckett's old men. He didn't really tell us anything. Well, we got a riddle out of him, but no-one has any idea of what it means."

"What is it?" Gerard asked.

"The locals know there's more to life then death, and have an entire belief system that a wizard like Bob may appreciate, and nothing is ever as it seems." Amelia rattled off.

"Hmm…that doesn't sound too complicated…but almost every place has a different belief system, some of them based on religion, others on other things. 'There's more to life then death'…perhaps there's a local vampire, or a hotspot like the Killjoy Club and the locals are around ghost and the supernatural all the time. 'Nothing is ever as it seems' that's simple enough. That's more of a warning more than anything else," Gerard explained.

"But that still doesn't explain where." Ray said, walking in from the kitchen.

"I know that. It's like a puzzle, we've got to find out where….at least it's not logic."

"They have save the dates." Amelia said suddenly, still shocked that her best friend would even think of something like that, even though she knew it was probably just a ploy to get into her head, drive her insane.

"They what?" Frank just about choked on the water he was drinking.

"Butcher said her and Beckett have save the dates. Everyone knows that means wedding invites…"

"Don't be silly, Mimi, wedding invites? Who would want to marry that poor excuse of a vampire?"

"Oh, if you knew the way AJ thought I think you'd understand. She's got this thing where she falls for-"

"Right…after that battle, didn't she end up flirting with Chislett?"

"Yep. That's what I mean. Even after something like a battle like that happens, she's still looking out for a date. That's the part that scares me about her and Beckett…I can just see this not ending well."

"What, like him killing her?"

"Uh, well….it's kinda complicated. She called me the other day…with this theory. It's sorta out there, but…it makes sense. She said there's this cardinal rule that forbids him for killing her; I guess that it's that a vampire cannot directly intentionally kill someone he has sired."

"There's a catch. You said intentionally. He can still unintentionally kill her."

"Yeah, how's he supposed to do that?"

"Oh…shit. That's what the save the dates are for! They're…some elaborate scheme he's got. I swear, if this turns out like Twilight, I'll kill her myself."

"Why would it be like Twilight? That's such a pathetic vampire story….totally not like reality."

"Well….everyone knows Bella and Edward get married…long story short she ends up pregnant. When she has the baby, she dies. Edward has to turn her, so in turn her having the baby unintentionally causes her death."

"So…where are you going with this?"

"I'm saying if she's trying what I think she is, she's dying. Wait…she's already a vampire hybrid, so I don't think…"

"What?"

"She wouldn't be able to have a child, even if she wanted to. The vampire DNA would make it impossible for her body to change as the baby grows….right?"

"Well…actually," Seb started. "Her lycan side would counteract that, because she's a lycan dominant hybrid, her body could still change, as she must change every month with the full moon despite being a hybrid."

"She wouldn't. AJ...I can't see it. Little kids just bug her, and to think of her having her own? I just can't see it."

"But think about it...her habit of falling hard of her own two feet could be what gets you killed. Who knows if we can trust her anymore?" Mikey brought up.

"She won't do anything stupid."

"Do you realize what you just said? We're talking about the same girl who you caught wrapped up in Beckett's arms. How do you know that she's even still on our side anymore?"

"Because it's already happened once. AJ wouldn't let it..." at that moment, Amelia realized how dangerous dealing with AJ could be. Because if she indeed wasn't still on 'their' side...

"I don't...do I even know her anymore?"

Later that night, though both girls were states apart, they both were busy.

AJ was all about planning for the weeks ahead, should Amelia and the others find her.

"This looks terrible...white's not my color." AJ complained as she twirled in front of the mirror attached to the back of her bedroom door.

The eyelet detailed and lace and ribbon adorned soft cotton nightgown she wore was different then what she was used to, but given the weather, the sleeveless design was perfect.

"It looks fine, Adeline...do quit worrying and lay down, you need to rest. You've had a long day..."

She turned and glared at William, who was laying on the bed, sitting up against the headboard, a lazy grin on his face.

"Fine...but on one condition...Amelia took the bait, I told Butcher to mention save the dates...I'll bet she's freaking out." AJ stated, crawling up onto the bed.

"Save-the-dates? What was that for?"

"Just wanted to mess with her. Make her think we're getting married..." she explained.

"My, you certainly do fit in as a Dandie...messing with people's minds without a thought seems second nature. And you know...we could make them believe it."

"Oh, William...but how?"

"Mike can create another illusion." He reasoned.

"Mean like...I know this is going to sound cheesy, but could I be Bella?"

"Not from that terrible Twilight movie...please say that's not what you mean..."

AJ giggled, "Why is everyone hatin' on Twilight? The movie is better then the book!"

"It's a terrible representation of vampires and the lore associated with us. A vampire falling for a human is unheard of, and it's not tolerated if the matter does arise."

"Oh..." AJ started dejectedly, "But there's a reason I brought it up..."

She refused to look at him instead twirling a lock of hair around her finger. William's arms worked their way around her waist, and then she finally looked at him.

"If we're going to mess with Amelia and Gerard and his men, I want to do it right. We either don't do this wedding illusion, or we give reality the finger and really mess things up. I wanted to have kids when I was younger, but...now that I'm part vampire I don't think I can...and...if Carden's really as good with illusions as I think...my dreams can come somewhat true."

"Wait...what?"

"Can we have Carden create this giant illusion that we got married and then somehow I end up pregnant? I just...that's the one thing I know that will put Amelia over the edge...I mean, if we have enough time, it should work. My lycanthropy would accelerate the pregnancy, and I can totally fake being almost dead again..."

"So...you're saying we make them think, that when they find you, you'll not only my bride by this point, but you're to be a mother as well?"

AJ smiled, absentmindedly reaching up a hand to run it through his hair, "That too much to ask?"

"No...it's just complicated, that's all. I'll talk to Mike in the morning. For now, rest. If this does work and he agrees, we've got a lot of walk ahead of us."

Satisfied, AJ lay down and sighed. Even if this didn't happen, the sheer idea of Amelia's reaction to the illusion made her smile. As she closed her eyes and focused on relaxing her body, William's arms still around her, all traces of worry left her mind.

It didn't matter now if Amelia found her. Either way, she was sure everything would be fine.


	12. Chapter 12

As Amelia lay in bed trying to think of ways she could find out where AJ and Beckett were, she considered consulting the demon. Illshya was far older than Beckett. Perhaps she would know.

"_My lady, you've lived for thousands of years. Do you have any idea as to where Beckett is originally from?" she asked._

_The demon was silent for a moment. "I am not sure, child. Do you know when he was sired?"_

"_Well, he and Gerard are around the same age, though I am sure Gerard is older. Hold on, let me go ask him."_

Amelia got out of bed and walked out into the living room. Mikey was sitting on the couch, still watching TV with Seb and his friends.

"Hey Mikey, do you know where Gerard is?" she asked, poking her head into the living room.

"He's in his office. It's up the stairs and it's the second door on the left," Mikey replied.

"Thanks."

Amelia walked up a small flight of stairs and walked to the second room on the left. She knocked on the door quietly, not wanting to wake up Frank, Ray, or Bob, whose rooms were also upstairs.

"Hey Gee? It's Amelia. Can I come in?" she asked quietly.

The door opened and Gerard ushered her in. He was talking on the phone to someone, so she waited until he was done.

"Hey Mimi, what's up?" he asked, sitting down in his big comfy chair.

"Well, I was laying in bed trying to think of ways to find AJ, and I thought of asking Illshya for help, seeing as she's older than William is. She wanted to know when William was turned, and I didn't know. I just knew that you were older than him. When were you sired?" she asked.

Gerard sat back in his seat and scratched his head. He let out a breath as he tried to remember.

"Wow, it's been a long time since anyone has asked me that. The years just all blend into one after a while. Well, I was born in the late 1600s, back when the life expectancy wasn't very high. Now, I had a little advantage over most people because my parents were had vampire and lycan lineages. That's why I was able to survive until I was about 30. If I was born around 1670, plus 30 years, I was turned by my dad in about 1700," he said, doing some quick math in his head. "Now William is indeed younger than me, but not by much. If I had to venture a guess, I'd say he's only like, 15 years younger than me, no more than that. That would have made him sired in about 1715-ish. Does that help?"

"Yeah, that helps a bit. At least now I have a point of reference. Thanks, Gerard!" Amelia said as she got up and went back to her room. If she wanted to truly talk with the demon, she was going to need to be inside her own head.

She sat down on her bed and began to meditate while reciting words in the ancient demon language. Soon, she could feel her senses slipping away as she retreated into her subconscious. Eventually, she was literally transported into her own mind. When she opened her eyes, she was in a dark corridor that was lit with torches. She had been here before, so she knew that she had just had to keep walking. She felt her way along the wall and eventually came to a large door. She opened the door and went inside. Inside was a small room lined with torches.

"Welcome, child. Please, sit down," the demon said, suddenly appearing in front of her.

Amelia sat on the ground and the demon sat across from her. The demon folded her large wings onto her back and sat cross-legged.

"So according to Gerard, Beckett was sired sometime around 1715," Amelia told Illshya.

She nodded as if to beckon Amelia to continue.

"It's just an estimate, but where were you living at that time, my lady?"

"Well, by that time, I had already been banished by Orion for many centuries. After he forbade any demon from existing in its true form, we had to possess human hosts. I've lived in many places and I know many things. In the 1700s, almost 400 years after making the blood pact with Lucian, I was living in Japan. In that time, I was a Japanese royal maiden, so I would not have even known anything of Beckett's whereabouts. I am sorry, my child," the demon said, lowering her head.

"It's all right. But if you do not know, my lady, who would?"

"I do not know, child."

"What about your brother, Orion? He is the demon of heaven and sky, therefore he would know everything."

The demon immediately turned away from Amelia, as if the mere mention of her brother's name had offended her.

"I do not wish to consult my brother," she spat.

"Oh, come on, my lady. You're acting like a five-year old. He can't be that bad. He, since he's all knowing, might actually know where Beckett is from. He's our only chance," Amelia pleaded.

After a moment of silence, the demon huffed but agreed. "Fine, fine, we can talk to him. But I'm warning you, he's nothing more than an egotistical jerk who let the power go to his head."

Amelia laughed. She never would have guessed there'd have been sibling rivalry between the two demons.

"How can I talk to him?" she asked.

"Well, he lives in the Kingdom of the Sky, and you cannot get there by yourself. You will need me. You will also need to be put into a catatonic state so that my soul will be able to leave the confines of your body in order to travel to the kingdom. Mortals cannot walk in the kingdom, which is why I will have to go. Now, awaken and I shall prepare a list of ingredients which we will need. We will also need someone to put you into the trance, someone like the wizard," the demon explained as she retreated from the room.

Amelia followed and was forced back into consciousness. She fell asleep that night with renewed hope.

The next day, Illshya came up with a list of ingredients and Amelia gave them to Bob, who assured he could get them within a day or so.

The next night, Bob had all the ingredients and Amelia was ready to go. They needed a large space to do this, so Bob took Amelia down in the basement. Everyone was curious to know what was going on, but the demon had forbid anyone else from being there except for Bob.

"_Child, I can sense that you are nervous, but do not be. Robert will take care of you. I wouldn't trust anyone else with doing this more than I have faith in him. Be warned though, it's been a long time since I have spoken with my brother, so he might not even agree to see me. I will try my best," the demon promised._

"_Thank you, my lady. That is all I can ask for." Amelia replied._

She walked down into the basement where Bob was already waiting.

"Hey Mimi, just take a seat in that chair over there, okay?" he asked, pointing to a wooden chair in front of him.

She sat down and gazed at the ground. She was still nervous.

"Hey, don't worry, okay? I've worked with these materials before, so you'll be fine. I'll be here with you the whole time," he said, placing a hand on her shoulder for support and smiling.

She gave him a weak smile in return. "Okay, I'm ready."

Bob nodded. He put some ingredients in a bowl and lit it on fire. A thick blue smoke filled the room.

"Just breathe deeply. Whatever you do, don't forget to breathe," he said as he walked around the room, filling it up with smoke.

Amelia inhaled deeply and exhaled, trying to find her center of balance. The smoke didn't smell that bad, but it wasn't exactly daisies in the park.

As he walked around, Bob began to chant the ancient spell required for transportation to the Kingdom of the Sky. Amelia felt her limbs seize up and she shivered. The more that Bob said those words, the more restless the demon grew. Her heart was pounding in your chest, heartbeat roaring in her ears.

"Amelia, just keep breathing. Breathe," she could hear Bob saying. She did what he said, but it didn't seem to help much. She seized again and shuddered, and then, nothing. Everything faded to black.


	13. Chapter 13

As Amelia lay in bed trying to think of ways she could find out where AJ and Beckett were, she considered consulting the demon. Illshya was far older than Beckett. Perhaps she would know.

"_My lady, you've lived for thousands of years. Do you have any idea as to where Beckett is originally from?" she asked._

_The demon was silent for a moment. "I am not sure, child. Do you know when he was sired?"_

"_Well, he and Gerard are around the same age, though I am sure Gerard is older. Hold on, let me go ask him."_

Amelia got out of bed and walked out into the living room. Mikey was sitting on the couch, still watching TV with Seb and his friends.

"Hey Mikey, do you know where Gerard is?" she asked, poking her head into the living room.

"He's in his office. It's up the stairs and it's the second door on the left," Mikey replied.

"Thanks."

Amelia walked up a small flight of stairs and walked to the second room on the left. She knocked on the door quietly, not wanting to wake up Frank, Ray, or Bob, whose rooms were also upstairs.

"Hey Gee? It's Amelia. Can I come in?" she asked quietly.

The door opened and Gerard ushered her in. He was talking on the phone to someone, so she waited until he was done.

"Hey Mimi, what's up?" he asked, sitting down in his big comfy chair.

"Well, I was laying in bed trying to think of ways to find AJ, and I thought of asking Illshya for help, seeing as she's older than William is. She wanted to know when William was turned, and I didn't know. I just knew that you were older than him. When were you sired?" she asked.

Gerard sat back in his seat and scratched his head. He let out a breath as he tried to remember.

"Wow, it's been a long time since anyone has asked me that. The years just all blend into one after a while. Well, I was born in the late 1600s, back when the life expectancy wasn't very high. Now, I had a little advantage over most people because my parents were had vampire and lycan lineages. That's why I was able to survive until I was about 30. If I was born around 1670, plus 30 years, I was turned by my dad in about 1700," he said, doing some quick math in his head. "Now William is indeed younger than me, but not by much. If I had to venture a guess, I'd say he's only like, 15 years younger than me, no more than that. That would have made him sired in about 1715-ish. Does that help?"

"Yeah, that helps a bit. At least now I have a point of reference. Thanks, Gerard!" Amelia said as she got up and went back to her room. If she wanted to truly talk with the demon, she was going to need to be inside her own head.

She sat down on her bed and began to meditate while reciting words in the ancient demon language. Soon, she could feel her senses slipping away as she retreated into her subconscious. Eventually, she was literally transported into her own mind. When she opened her eyes, she was in a dark corridor that was lit with torches. She had been here before, so she knew that she had just had to keep walking. She felt her way along the wall and eventually came to a large door. She opened the door and went inside. Inside was a small room lined with torches.

"Welcome, child. Please, sit down," the demon said, suddenly appearing in front of her.

Amelia sat on the ground and the demon sat across from her. The demon folded her large wings onto her back and sat cross-legged.

"So according to Gerard, Beckett was sired sometime around 1715," Amelia told Illshya.

She nodded as if to beckon Amelia to continue.

"It's just an estimate, but where were you living at that time, my lady?"

"Well, by that time, I had already been banished by Orion for many centuries. After he forbade any demon from existing in its true form, we had to possess human hosts. I've lived in many places and I know many things. In the 1700s, almost 400 years after making the blood pact with Lucian, I was living in Japan. In that time, I was a Japanese royal maiden, so I would not have even known anything of Beckett's whereabouts. I am sorry, my child," the demon said, lowering her head.

"It's all right. But if you do not know, my lady, who would?"

"I do not know, child."

"What about your brother, Orion? He is the demon of heaven and sky, therefore he would know everything."

The demon immediately turned away from Amelia, as if the mere mention of her brother's name had offended her.

"I do not wish to consult my brother," she spat.

"Oh, come on, my lady. You're acting like a five-year old. He can't be that bad. He, since he's all knowing, might actually know where Beckett is from. He's our only chance," Amelia pleaded.

After a moment of silence, the demon huffed but agreed. "Fine, fine, we can talk to him. But I'm warning you, he's nothing more than an egotistical jerk who let the power go to his head."

Amelia laughed. She never would have guessed there'd have been sibling rivalry between the two demons.

"How can I talk to him?" she asked.

"Well, he lives in the Kingdom of the Sky, and you cannot get there by yourself. You will need me. You will also need to be put into a catatonic state so that my soul will be able to leave the confines of your body in order to travel to the kingdom. Mortals cannot walk in the kingdom, which is why I will have to go. Now, awaken and I shall prepare a list of ingredients which we will need. We will also need someone to put you into the trance, someone like the wizard," the demon explained as she retreated from the room.

Amelia followed and was forced back into consciousness. She fell asleep that night with renewed hope.

The next day, Illshya came up with a list of ingredients and Amelia gave them to Bob, who assured he could get them within a day or so.

The next night, Bob had all the ingredients and Amelia was ready to go. They needed a large space to do this, so Bob took Amelia down in the basement. Everyone was curious to know what was going on, but the demon had forbid anyone else from being there except for Bob.

"_Child, I can sense that you are nervous, but do not be. Robert will take care of you. I wouldn't trust anyone else with doing this more than I have faith in him. Be warned though, it's been a long time since I have spoken with my brother, so he might not even agree to see me. I will try my best," the demon promised._

"_Thank you, my lady. That is all I can ask for." Amelia replied._

She walked down into the basement where Bob was already waiting.

"Hey Mimi, just take a seat in that chair over there, okay?" he asked, pointing to a wooden chair in front of him.

She sat down and gazed at the ground. She was still nervous.

"Hey, don't worry, okay? I've worked with these materials before, so you'll be fine. I'll be here with you the whole time," he said, placing a hand on her shoulder for support and smiling.

She gave him a weak smile in return. "Okay, I'm ready."

Bob nodded. He put some ingredients in a bowl and lit it on fire. A thick blue smoke filled the room.

"Just breathe deeply. Whatever you do, don't forget to breathe," he said as he walked around the room, filling it up with smoke.

Amelia inhaled deeply and exhaled, trying to find her center of balance. The smoke didn't smell that bad, but it wasn't exactly daisies in the park.

As he walked around, Bob began to chant the ancient spell required for transportation to the Kingdom of the Sky. Amelia felt her limbs seize up and she shivered. The more that Bob said those words, the more restless the demon grew. Her heart was pounding in your chest, heartbeat roaring in her ears.

"Amelia, just keep breathing. Breathe," she could hear Bob saying. She did what he said, but it didn't seem to help much. She seized again and shuddered, and then, nothing. Everything faded to black.


	14. Chapter 14

**Everything for now will be in the point of view of the demon.**

_The ritual had gone as planned. Lady Illshya felt herself lift out of the child's body and ascend into the Kingdom of the Sky. She planted her feet firmly on the clouds and folded her wings into her back. She could see the large gates that marked the entrance into her brother's territory and she braced herself. _

_She walked forward until she reached the gates. There was an elderly man sitting at a high podium. She recognized him to be Balthazar, a friend of her family, and the guardian of the gates. He held a quill in his hand and was reading a long list of names. _

_She stepped forward and cleared her throat._

_"Name?" Balthazar asked._

_"Illshya, demoness of hell," she replied and the man gave a frightened jump._

_"Goodness me, Lady Illshya, it's been many centuries. What can I do for you?"_

_"I"m here to see my brother. It's important."_

_"Very well, I'll let you through. Be careful, though, he's in a rather foul mood," the old man warned her as he opened the gates._

_Illshya bowed in thanks and walked through the gates. As the gates closed behind her, she heard someone approaching and instinctively drew her weapons._

_"Well, I'll be damned. No wait, that's you. What a pleasant surprise. My sister has decided to crawl from the depths of hell just to come and visit me. Isn't that nice?" sneered a voice as a figure walked towards Illshya._

_The figure was taller than Illshya and was wearing black and white armor. His eyes were obscured slightly by a blue helmet. A pair of large white wings was folded up on his back._

_"Believe me, brother, had I the choice, I wouldn't have come to see you," Illshya sneered right back as she lowered her weapons._

_"Then why have you come?" he demanded._

_"I need something."_

_"What?"_

_"I need help," she said quietly, but her brother heard every word._

_"Wait a minute, you're kidding, right? Lady Illshya, the demoness of hell, the baddest demon of them all, the one who completely disobeyed my will and got herself banished, is asking for MY help? I'm flattered," Orion replied stubbornly._

_Illshya, growing tired of her brother, slugged him as hard as she could in the face and was delighted when his helmet flew off his head. His icy blue eyes burned into her fierce green ones._

_"Believe me, if this wasn't a dire situation, I would take care of it myself. Now, cut the crap, brother, or I'll shove that helmet of yours so far up your ass, it'll come out your mouth," Illshya threatened, and her brother knew she was serious._

_"Fine, fine, what do you want?"_

_"I need to know where a particular vampire was sired."_

_"Who?"_

_"William Beckett," she said, and he whistled in appreciation._

_"William Beckett? How do you know him?"_

_"It's a long story, but he is going after my host, and I need to destroy him. According to the child, he was turned some time in 1715. As you recall, I was in Japan at that time and would not have known about him."_

_"Even my memory is fuzzy. Let us consult the Annals," he said as he turned and walked away. Illshya followed him and he led her to an immaculate white room with a large book on a pedestal. _

_He flipped through the pages of the book. The book was a magical record of every event in the world since the dawning of time. Orion flipped through the pages as Illshya waited._

_"Can't you go any faster?" she asked, not wanting to keep the child unconscious for longer than necessary._

_He rolled his eyes and looked at her. "Well I could, but I'm sorry that there were millions of years that came before the year 1715."_  
_Eventually though, he was able to find it._

_"Let's see, in 1715, it was recorded that William Beckett was living in the territory that would later become Louisiana, and he was sired by a vampire named Lestat DeLioncourt."_

_"That's what I was looking for. Many thanks, brother," Illshya said as she retreated._

_"Oh, and Lady Illshya?" he called as she walked out. She turned to face him. "Never come and visit me again."_

_"Believe me, brother, I won't, unless it's absolutely necessary," she said, and left._

Back in the real world, Bob was getting worried. Amelia had been unconscious for almost a half hour. He'd never seen anything like it. As he was going to walk over and check on her, he heard the sound of wood splintering as the door was thrown off of its hinges. He sighed to himself.

Mikey, Gerard, and everyone else came flooding down the basement stairs. They coughed at the smell of the smoke.

"Jesus, Bob, open a window or something," Gerard said as he coughed and unlatched a window.

David blew all of the smoke out of the room with a giant gust of Airbending.

"So, what do we know?" Chuck asked.

"Nothing yet," Bob said, trying to play it cool. He didn't want the others to know that she'd been unconscious for almost a half hour.

Mikey was looking at Bob with a strange look on his face and his ears were perked, listening for something. He walked over to Amelia and sniffed her. He felt her neck, presumably to look for a pulse, and Bob twitched nervously.

He became increasingly nervous when he heard Mikey growl, and when Mikey looked up at him, there was pure rage in his eyes.

"She has no pulse, Bob. WHAT THE FUCK DID YOU DO TO HER?" Mikey demanded, snapping his teeth.

"I, uh, I..." he stuttered, not sure of what to say. He hadn't planned for anything like this to happen.

Mikey walked towards Bob and stared him down. Normally, Bob wasn't a very emotional person. He tried not to let his emotions show, but right at this moment, he was scared shitless. Mikey Way, when he was angry, was probably the scariest thing in the world.

"Well?" he demanded.

Gerard walked towards Mikey, trying to calm him down by saying that Bob didn't mean for it to happen, anything he could think of to try and appease him. Nothing worked.

Meanwhile, Sebastien, who was calmly observing the situation, looked at Chuck.

"Try and do something to help her," he demanded, using every fiber of power to keep himself calm.

Chuck walked over to Amelia and bent some water from the flask at his hip. As he was going to try and heal her, Mikey looked at him with death in his eyes.

"Don't you dare touch her," he said, his voice deadly.

Chuck let the water fall and when he did, Amelia actually fell out of the chair. Seb got to her first and caught her before she hit the ground.

"Come on, Mimi. Wake up. Just wake up," he muttered, but for a whole minute, nothing happened.

The tension in the room was almost palpable. Just as Mikey took a swipe at Bob with one of his claws, Amelia suddenly sat up in Seb's arms, eyes wide and coughing. She looked around at everyone, bewildered. Everyone sighed in relief, and Bob could finally breathe again.

"You okay, Mimi?" Sebastien asked, concerned.

"I'm fine, Seb. It's just a little startling when your soul leaves your body and then suddenly comes back without warning," she said, mustering a weak smile.

Seb carried her upstairs and everyone else followed, except for Mikey and Bob. Mikey looked at Bob and for a minute, Bob thought he was actually going to hurt him. Instead, he hugged him.

"I am SO sorry about all of that. It just freaked me out, you know?" he said and Bob understood.

They walked upstairs and went to the living room, where Seb had placed Amelia on the couch.

"So, what did the demon find out?" everyone wanted to know.

"Well, she said that, according to some mystical book that contains everything that's ever happened in the world, Beckett was sired in 1715 in Louisiana by a vampire named Lestat DeLioncourt," she replied.

"So that's where they are. That's what he meant by going back to his roots. He went back to Louisiana, where he was sired," Gerard said, finally understanding.

"Well guys, I hope you know how to speak French, because we might just need it," David said and everyone agreed.


	15. Chapter 15

AJ grinned, the weather outside was perfect to sit and watch the wind blow through the trees. Carden's illusion had worked wonders, and it was easy to work with. The pale green dress AJ wore fit alright, (aside from the fact there was a little more give in the front toward her waist) and the back of it was ruched with ribbon and lace. As she sat on the front porch of the house, humming a melody from a song her and Amelia used to listen to, she smiled.

The only thing she was waiting for was the reaction.

Course, there was still just one thing that bugged her. Amelia hadn't found her yet. How long had it been since Chislett had been killed and she's been captured? Two weeks? Three?

She couldn't even remember. Not that it mattered much; AJ was used to not realizing how much time passed between events. She closed her eyes and felt the wind run through her hair, wishing she hadn't braided it. The two sections at the front of her hair, just next to her bangs, were braided and pinned back while the rest of her hair was pulled into a low pony. She hadn't wanted her hair up, but Carden insisted if her hair was off her face that it would heighten the effects from the illusion, mainly the darker circles under her eyes and her darkened irises. It wasn't any harder for her to see, but the color did make her look like she was sick.

Instead of hazel irises, they were nearly black.

"Adeline, do come in soon, okay? I don't want you wandering off and the illusion to break." William called from the living room to which she got up to go talk to him.

"Alright! But…I was thinking, when Amelia finds me…if she does…well, I should ask first but…if this was real, the baby would be stronger than me, right? As in having the ability to sap my strength?"

He nodded, "Where are you going with this?"

"Because I'm part lycan, I've learned how to dislocate at will to avoid injury. I was thinking, if she sees me on the porch, once she figures out what's happened, I'll get up and call for you, and the moment you see me – I'll dislocate my knee or something and fall, blaming 'it' for taking away my strength…that should horrify her!" She exclaimed gleefully, the very idea making her smile twitch in anticipation.

"You know, I would want to be careful about that…it you do it the wrong wa-"

"William, I've done this tons of times before…this time is nothing, it'll just look like it's really bad."

"Fine. But I'll stress the timing again, your part has to be-" he started, but she had already skipped off.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The group wanted to depart as soon as possible, but they decided to wait for at least a day so that Amelia could recuperate. During the day, while Amelia and the vampires rested, everyone else was busy preparing themselves for the trip. They packed luggage and got the legal permissions, seeing as Amelia and AJ were technically both assassins. Later that night, when Amelia and the others woke up, they packed up and boarded a plane to New Jersey.

Gerard had managed to pull some strings and had booked a flight reserved for only them. They decided to use the two and a half hours of flying to plan.

"So, did Orion say where exactly in Louisiana Beckett was from?" Mikey asked.

Amelia shrugged.

_"My lady, did Orion say anything about where in Louisiana we were supposed to go?"_

_"No, but I know Lestat. I lived in France for a time and we were...close, I'll put it that way. He hails from New Orleans and when I knew him, he didn't care much for travel. We should start our search in New Orleans," the demon replied._

"Illshya says that William's sire, Lestat, is from New Orleans. We should start there," Amelia said and everyone agreed.

"Once we get there, what are we going to do? We don't want this to end like the incident in Chicago," Ray reminded everyone.

"First, we're going to find a place to stay. We need to have a base. If I know Beckett, this is going to take a few days," Gerard said.

"Once we do that, we'll scour the entire city for any sign of them," Frank added.

"We can't possibly cover all the ground by ourselves. We'll divide into teams. Sebastien, you, Amelia, Ray, Pierre, and Chuck will be one team. Frank, David, Jeff, and Bob, you'll be another team. Mikey and I will go at it by ourselves," Gerard decided.

"What do we do if we find them?" Amelia asked.

"First, do not engage them. Any of Beckett's men, especially Beckett, will be extremely dangerous on his home territory. If you see any of them, or find the house, call the whole group together immediately. When that happens, we'll come up with a plan. Sounds good?" Gerard asked.

Everyone nodded.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The rest of the flight was in silence. By the time the plane landed in Louisiana, everyone was bursting with excitement. The weather, though, was a little different than Jersey. The air was thick with humidity, much to the displeasure of Mikey and Sebastien. They braved through it though, and the group was able to stay at a hotel for a couple of days.

After that, they split up into groups and began the search.

Amelia's group went to the French quarter, since they had the most people who could speak French. Frank's group went to the East side and Gerard and Mikey went to the West side.

Amelia walked alongside Sebastien and Ray, eyes and ears alert for anything.

"Smell anything yet, Seb?" Amelia asked and he wrinkled his nose.

"Nope, but there's a lot of magic here. I almost wish we had Bob here, he could probably get rid of some of the wards.

They traipsed through the various neighborhoods for a few hours with Pierre, Seb, or Chuck occasionally asking people on the streets if they had seen Beckett. All of the answers pointed to no, and as they were going to turn around and go back, Sebastien caught a whiff of something.

He spun on his heels and began running. Everyone ran after, trying to figure out what he had smelled.

"Jeeze Seb, slow down!" Pierre yelled.

Eventually, Seb came to stop in front of a lavish bayou mansion. He stopped at the walkway and waited.

"This is it," he announced as everyone caught up with him.

"You sure?" Ray asked.

He nodded. "Yes. I can smell all of them, including AJ. This is it."

"Call Gerard, and I'll call Frank," Ray said as he pulled out his phone.

Amelia pulled out hers and called Gerard.

Within 20 minutes, the entire group had assembled.

"Okay, so now what do we do?" David asked.

"Well, let's just go in there and see what happens," Gerard said.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
They walked up the walkway, careful to be aware so that Beckett and his men couldn't sneak up on them.

Amelia could see someone sitting out on the veranda. She immediately recognized AJ. She walked up to her.

"AJ? Is that you? What are you doing out here alone?"

The girl in the dress didn't turn, but once Amelia heard her voice, she knew who it was.

"I'm not alone. Just getting some air, that's all. I've been sick for a while, William actually doesn't know how to handle me…well, it. It's a problem he's never faced before, and you know how old he is. So I'm just thinking, that's all."

"Come on, let's go! Seb and Mikey and the others are here with me, we can leave and go back to Jersey, figure out how to defeat Beckett! AJ, look at me, c'mon…" Amelia tried again, realizing the boys had followed her.

When she did turn to face them, the entire group was shocked. This AJ did not look like the one they'd seen at Slane Castle. She looked worse. Not worse as in beaten, but…it looked like she was really sick.

The bags under her eyes were dark purple, faint fragments of what would have been veins visible through her paler than pale skin. Her eyes didn't look the same either, they seemed…

"Your eyes…what happened to your eyes?" Mikey asked.

AJ shrugged, "Guess that's just a side-effect…oh well. I look different, don't I?" she wondered cheerfully, holding out her hands as though she wanted the others to look over her.

And then Amelia saw it. Butcher hadn't been lying. Because on AJ's ring finger on her left hand, was a ring.

"Y-you…y-you…"

"Oh, come now, Ilysha got your tongue? It's a ring…deal." AJ teased.

"Yeah, b-but…then you actually-"

"Did you think I was kidding? I'm not; in fact I'm surprised you haven't put two and two together yet. How long will it take? Better hurry, I don't know how long I'll be living as a hybrid before I die. Again, I should add."

Frank turned to Amelia, "You know who she sounds like, don't you?"

"Yeah, one of them…"

"One of who? The boys aren't all bad you know…William keeps them in check, and now since our little problem has complicated things they know to leave me alone. You should see me when I don't have blood…"  
Amelia's eyes widened. When AJ didn't have blood? Oh no…

"What do you mean your 'little problem'?" Ray asked, puzzled by the way she spoke so plainly about whatever it was.

"Well…" AJ started, fiddling with the hem of her dress, "If you really must know…don't be surprised," she added, looking at Amelia, "that it's come to this."

With that, she set her hands over her stomach and Amelia realized at once why the dress fit the way it did, why AJ was so sick looking.

"You…you're…you're…"

"Yep. Didn't think it would work, but… puppy dog pouts can get you anything if you do them right," she smiled, laughing.

How could she be laughing?

"Adeline! Dinner!" Beckett called from inside.

AJ turned back to Amelia, then glanced at the door.

"It's been nice seeing you, but…I must be going. Au revoir." And then AJ turned, to go inside. Reaching the doorframe, she willed herself to move her knee in just the right way, and-

"OOOWWW! Ah-" she yelped as she fell, collapsing into the half open door, one hand automatically going to rest on her stomach, the other trying to break her fall. But she didn't need to.

Because as soon as she looked up, she saw William had caught her mid-fall.

"Something get loose again? Come now, we'd better get you inside. And that's the last time I'm letting you out of my sight. From now on one of the boys will watch you, I really don't want anything else happening to you or the-" he looked up at the sound of Mikey's growl.

"Oh, hello…I see Adeline must have forgotten to tell me you were coming….do come in, there's enough food for all of us."

Amelia just glared at him, and then looked at AJ, realizing things had gone from bad to worse to just freaking lovely. As she reluctantly stepped inside, she couldn't help her thoughts.

_'AJ…I'm getting you back, I swear…and we're getting rid of that, and him…and the rest of them. It's far past the time this son of a bitch needs to die.'_


	16. Chapter 16

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

When both groups had made their way into the living room, it seemed everyone was shocked into silence. No-one spoke, it was as though nobody knew what to say.

Amelia, Seb, Mikey, Frank and Jeff stood close to the door leading to the kitchen, Gerard, Pierre, Chuck, David and Bob on the other side of the room, effectively blocking anyone's escape.

_'This is strange.'_ Amelia thought. _'Where are the other Dandies?'_

Beckett carefully set AJ down on the couch, and then knelt on the floor next to her.

"You sure you were just walking this time?"

"I told you, I was just turning around to go inside," she sighed, hands settling over her stomach, "And then my knee went again...I don't know what will be next..."

Amelia almost felt sorry for AJ, but then she remembered what was doing this to her. For all she cared, AJ needed to learn from her mistakes, perhaps letting 'it' break something and really injure her was the only way she'd learn.

"I don't either. And I don't want to take anymore chances. This may sound strict, but from now on, one of the boys has to keep watch on you."

"But Willi-" she coughed, and it was raspy, like her lungs were working overtime to keep her breathing, "Can you go get me some blood? I don't think eating's the best idea right now."

"Of course, love." he kissed her forehead and then got up, turning around to face Amelia.

"As much as I'd love to kill you all on the spot, that's not something I believe we should subject Adeline to, being she's in such a weak state."

"She's like that because it's your fault, you sick bastard!" Amelia yelled, lunging for Beckett, suddenly being stopped.

"Now, you'd think you'd be grateful he's decided to not shed blood in front of the mutt," Brendon mused as his grip tightened around Amelia.

She gasped, where had he come from? And before she knew it, the others had swept into the room, Carden immediately heading toward AJ.

"Did she dislocate something again? I told you we should have just gotten rid of it before she got attached to it," he was saying, but Amelia never got to hear the rest as someone ran past her.

Mikey ran for Carden, taking advantage of the fact that the fight hadn't started yet. First punch always meant bragging rights when it was over.

Carden had barely turned around when Mikey tackled him, the two falling to the ground in a mix of yells and claws. Beckett looked at the two, already aiming to killing the other, and then at Gerard.

"So that's how you're to play this game? Be my guest."

He waved his hand, almost in a 'come and get me' motion, and then everyone jumped into action.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Amelia turned to look at Brendon, trying to wiggle herself free, surprised when he let go.

"Go after Beckett. Fine by me. I'll settle for that stupid Canadien mutt," he added with a smirk.

"Gladly." And without another word, Amelia ran, trying to find him.

The entire room was a mess, with Carden and Mikey going at it in one spot, Pierre, David, and Ray facing Jon, while Seb, Chuck, and Bob were trying to take down Brendon. Spencer and Ryan were teaming up against Jeff and Frank, which Amelia realized left her and Gerard to go after Beckett.

At once Amelia knew what she had to do. Talking sense into AJ had worked before, perhaps it would work again?

"AJ! Listen to me! This isn't what you want! All this fighting? You're not one of them, I know you! Even if that thing is turning you, you won't be like-" she yelled over the commotion, hoping AJ could hear her.

To her surprise she found the hybrid standing in front of her, her leg seemingly healed already.

"You and Carden think the same way," she started, and the remark stung Amelia, to hear this comparison was sickening. "Calling 'it' it and insisting I do things a certain way, or to stay the way I am...I'm sick of it! I know if I phase now, it'll probably kill me seeing as the stress and the adrenaline will overwhelm his body, but god damnit, if that'll be the end of me, let me go out in style!" she exclaimed, Amelia noticing her body was already shaking from adrenalin.

"It doesn't have to be this way...AJ, just relax...we can sneak away, get it taken care of, and then come back and kick-"

"SHUT UP! YOU JUST DON'T GET IT! THE ONLY ONE THAT EVER DOES IS WILLIAM! HE HASN'T DONE ANYTHING WRONG AND YET YOU'RE STILL TRYING TO-" Suddenly her voice died mid-rant, and her irises seemed to get even darker. Her mouth contorted into a half-smile, her head tilting.

And the next thing Amelia knew, AJ had punched her in the face.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Amelia stumbled back, still trying to make sense of the past ten seconds.

_'Ouch. Damn, lycans punch hard...wait, what the hell?'_

"That's for Callahan. Now get out, or William and I will make sure you and your friends never see the sun again." AJ threatened, voice stern.

"Callahan? Callahan? You named it! Wow...you really are as bad as I thought." Amelia fumed, Frank's words ringing in her ears,_ "What if she's not on 'our' side anymore?"_

"That's a nice name but thanks to its father, the name won't change how ugly it'll be," Gerard added.

"Right, says the vampire that dyed his hair with cherry kool-aid. I'd think most teenagers would know manic panic dye works much better..." AJ shot back before continuing, "Now, will you leave us in peace, or do we have to kick y'all out the hard way? I've got no southern hospitality left to someone that tries to destroy my home and family," she reasoned.

Amelia's jaw dropped. Had AJ just used the word 'family' in regard to the Dandies?

"Actually, forget leaving. William's quite wrong about the bloodshed. I'd much rather enjoy it, at least then I could have snack. And I think," she grinned, looking at Amelia, her eyes like a cat's tentatively watching a mouse, waiting to strike, "I think I'll start with you."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Yeah, well, try me, bitch." Amelia spat, realizing Frank had been right. She really wasn't on their side.

"You asked for it." AJ replied, giggling as she leapt toward Amelia, primal-mama-grizzly rage in her eyes.

Before either girl could land a hit, they were stopped.

"What the hell? William, put me down! I'm in the middle of-"

"Not in your condition you're not."

"Yes I am! Let me go!" AJ hollered, struggling against his grip, his arms locked around her waist.

"Can't do that, darling."

At the same time, Amelia realized she couldn't move who it was, she sighed.

"Gee, come on, let me rip her throat out! I'll be careful, I won't leave much blood for Beckett to lick up, though I probably should because this bastard deserves it,"she added as an afterthought.

"No. You're not killing your best friend."

"She's not her! She's one of them! She's an enemy, Gee! We need to kill her!"

"Not before I snap your neck first!" AJ yelled, squirming against Beckett's grip, still trying to get free.

"Adeline, what did I say? You're not fighting when you're in your current condition!"

She turned her head to glare at him, "Who are you, my father? Oh, that's right, he's dead!"

"Just like you're going to be when I get free," Amelia threw in icily.

At that moment, Gerard looked up, and found himself looking at Beckett. No words were exchanged, but they both thought the same thing. There was no way they were going to let the girls kill each other, not when they'd been such good friends.

Beckett nodded, almost as if he and Gerard were on the same page. To shut the girls up, their really only was one surefire way.

Gerard looked at Amelia, her blue-green eyes ensure which emotion to show. Anger? Sadness? Determination? Blinking, he said a single word.

"Sleep."  
Almost instantly, Amelia went limp in his arms, allowing him to carry her. He had to get the group to stop fighting, had back to base and regroup.

He turned back to look at Beckett, to maybe say something to the effect of, 'Thanks for not attacking me' but the vampire had already fled the room, taking AJ with him.


	17. Chapter 17

William set AJ on the bed, and then turned to shut the door.

"Adeline, what were you thinking! Had she managed to land a hit, it could've broken the illusion! You've never been so rash in jumping into things!"

"It's because I...I'm just trying to make this believable!"

"Believability and maintaining the status quo are two different things." he stated.

"Well they shouldn't be!" She yelled back, absentmindedly balling her hands into fists, feeling like she was going to cry.

"Dear, calm down. I didn't raise my voice, there's no need for you to raise yours. I just want to know why you rushed into it."

AJ glared, "If you want to know so badly, figure it out yourself."

He did a double take.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

She turned, sitting up against the pillows, hands setting on her hips in the typical female defiant stance.

"I said, figure it out yourself, Beckett!" She snapped, turning over and curling into a ball, soft sobs escaping her lips.

Startled by her sudden outburst, William knew something was wrong.

Turning from where he stood by the door, he walked over to the bed, where she lay, face buried in a pillow sobbing.

"Hey...I'm sorry. I know you're only trying to make this work. But that doesn't explain your...that ." he started gently, putting a hand on her shoulder.

She raised her head, her darkened eyes leaving tear tracks.

"I'm sorry too...I just...there's so much that's wrong about this...I..." she blinked, and even in her darkened eyes he could see a whirlwind of different emotions.

Before he knew what she was thinking, she had kissed him.

This was different than anything he'd ever felt from her. It was desperate, and the way that she grabbed him only reinforced the idea. The illusion had made her physically weaker, but she still grabbed the collar of his jacket and held tight to it as she tried to pull him on top of her.

He almost smiled as he heard her slight moan as his hands reached for the hem of her dress, being careful not to jarre the knee that had come undone. Reluctantly he pulled away as her eyelids fluttered and then she cringed.

"What's wrong?"

"This whole thing is just messed up...I mean...we're faking it. I'm already tricked into believing this is real, I'm fighting for something that doesn't exist! I don't even want to be faking it! I punched my best friend, and then I….what's gotten into me?"

"It's the hormones," William started, leaning in to kiss her before she turned her head.

"No! It's not! This is FAKE! I'm not pregnant and we're not married! This illusion is just a tease, of what my life could've b-been!"

William realized she was crying again, the reason for her outburst becoming clear.

He stopped moving, his mind processing what he'd discovered.

"Adeline…you could have told me of your desires sooner." He stated, making her eyes widen.

"You wouldn't listen to them anyways. And why now….all of a sudden?"

"You're distraught over something that can be remedied quite easily."

"And h-how's th-that?" She looked up, her hazel eyes meeting William's brown.

She didn't shudder as he kissed her forehead, didn't flinch as one of his hands caressed her legs.

He smiled.

"You want this to be real."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
**Back in the hotel room:**

"Gee, she fucking punched me in the face! You expect me not to want to tear her apart? Now that that thing's in her, she deserves to die! I don't care if that kills her! You know what, good, let it. I want her to see 'Callahan' with her dying breath...can't believe she turned on me like this!"

"Amelia, calm down...I know you're upset..."

"Gerard, no, listen to me! I'm venting! And if you don't want to see Illshya, you'll listen!"

"Okay...continue."

"So anyways...why? How the fuck could she do this! I really hope that...that spawn just rips her up, inside and out! Knowing its father it'll probably enjoy the carnage...but...god, why? She's so sick from it, but I'll bet she's wrapped up in his arms and she's 'Oh, Bilvy, please don't let the baby kill me, I love you...and oh, kiss me and...' sick bitch. She deserves everything that's coming to her. And you know what, let it grow. I won't kill her when she could cause her own death!"

"Amelia, just calm down...we have to figure out what we're going to do about this. We can't jump into anything we don't have control of our emotions, because whenever that happens, people end up hurt even more."

"So what if I don't have control of my emotions! Gerard, do you know what it's going to be like to have to tell Lucian that the girl that is pretty much like his only family has officially gone over to the other side? If you thought your brother was scary when he's angry, Lucian is a million times worse. God, why would she do that? Gah, I can't even think straight right now," she fumed and Gerard tried to calm her down.

"Amelia, I understand that you're angry, and you want to do something, but right now -"

"No, Gerard, you don't understand! None of you understand what this is like for me! You wanna know how it feels, Gerard? What if Mikey suddenly turned on you? What if _he_ was living with the enemy? Or what about Sara Ann? What if Sara Ann had -"

At the mention of Sara's name, Gerard had grabbed Amelia and placed his hand over her mouth. She struggled, but he grabbed her and held her close.

"You don't know what you're talking about. You didn't know Sara! Now, you're never going to compare Adeline to her. She is NOT Sara and never will be," Gerard whispered, his voice tinged with both sadness and rage.

The moment that he had grabbed Amelia, Mikey had gotten up from his seat and put a hand on Gerard's shoulder.

"Let her go, Gee. Let her go. She didn't mean it," he said softly and Gerard let her go.

When he did, she pushed him away from her and he fell into Mikey. Amelia spun on her heels and ran out of the hotel room.

"Seb, go follow her. I don't want her to get hurt," Mikey said and Sebastien nodded.

Amelia ran as far away from the hotel as she could. Tears of rage streamed down her face, so it was difficult to see where she was going. The moon was rising high as daylight faded from the sky. She sank down to her knees and cried. How could everything be going so wrong? She just wanted things to be the same as they were, before spring break, before they had ever even accepted the job from Patrick!

Wiping her eyes, she stood up and she realized she had no idea where she was. It was a deserted part of town, filled with abandoned storefronts, dark alleys, and lots of signs in French that she couldn't read. She heard footsteps approaching her and she sighed.

"Sebastien, I know that's you. I know Mikey asked you to follow me, but just leave me alone!" she shouted.

The footsteps stopped for a moment, and Amelia thought that whomever it was had gone away.

Then suddenly, something crashed into some crates that were in front of a store, and Amelia turned to look that way. There was something crawling on its hands and knees towards Amelia. She immediately took out her gun and fired a shot. Unphased, it continued to advance, slowly making its way to its feet. It walked towards her with haphazard and sluggish movements. She fired another shot, but it kept walking.

She backed up as it advanced, when she felt a hand on her shoulder. She screamed and turned around. There was another creature, just like the first one, behind her. She fired a shot, but they just kept coming. Before she knew what happened, there were dozens of the creatures! She dodged as many as she could.

From far away, she could hear a voice. It said, "Be gone, demon. Leave this place." In the corner of her eye, she could see some people. They must have been the ones controlling these beings!

Deciding there was nothing else to do, she fired off as many rounds of bullets as she had, but it was all in vain. The creatures closed in on her. One of them, a particularly nasty looking thing, with pale skin that was torn in places and bulging eyes, managed to actually get close enough that it could bite Amelia. Its teeth sunk into her flesh, right in the junction between the base of her neck and her shoulder. She screamed in pain and fell to the ground, screaming.

Just when she thought she was done for, she heard a growl, and suddenly, the creatures were knocked out of view. Looking up, she could see someone standing over her. He had brown hair.

"Seb," she whispered.

Seb clawed his way through the creatures and took out as many of them he could. He looked down and saw Amelia on the ground, her shirt torn and her shoulder bloody. The creatures came back. He knew that there were too many of them for him to take on by himself, even if he phased. Without hesitation, he scooped Amelia up into his arms and took off running. He ran as fast as he could, his strong legs pounding on the pavement.

"Seb? Where are we going? My neck burns. Oh god, it hurts," she moaned.

"Just hang on, Mimi, we're almost there," Seb said.

He made it to the hotel and dashed up the stairs. He made his way to the room and when he got to the door, it opened, almost by itself.

Seb walked into the room, panting heavily.

"Jeeze, Seb, we could hear you coming a mile away," Frank lamented from the couch.

"Oh my god, what happened to Amelia?" Gerard exclaimed.

"Here, lay her down on the bed," Ray instructed, trying to keep everyone calm.

Seb set her down on the bed and then collapsed into the chair that Chuck had previously been sitting in.

"What happened?" Gerard asked again.

Sebastien took a deep breath. "Necromancers. At least, that's what I think they were. There were these things, zombies. I followed Amelia like Mikey said, but I lost her. Then I heard a scream and I found dozens of these creatures attacking her. They looked like they were being controlled by an outside force. One of them managed to bite her," he explained.

Bob and Chuck looked at one another. They got up and began to examine Amelia.

"Frank, go run and get me some ice!" Chuck instructed while throwing the ice bucket at Frank. Frank ran out of the room as fast as he could.

"Well, can you guys help her?" Gerard asked, impatient.

"Give us a minute to look her over!" Bob exclaimed and Gerard backed off.

They did a full head-to-toe examination and found no other injuries other than the bite. Bob felt her pulse, which was way above a normal pulse rate. Almost on cue, Mikey stated, "Jeeze, her pulse is racing!"

Little beads of sweat began to drip down her forehead and as they were examining her, she suddenly bolted upright, screaming.

Amelia looked at her surroundings. It was different than before. It was the hotel, or so she thought. When she looked up at the people around her, the skin melted off of their faces, leaving nothing but skeletons. There were spiders crawling everywhere, and she thought she saw a snake somewhere.

Bob and Chuck looked at one another again.

"Amelia! Amelia! Calm down, it's us! Jesus, Mikey, will you hold her down?" Bob yelled to be heard over Amelia's screaming.

At that moment, Frank burst back in the room with the ice.

"Took you long enough," Chuck remarked angrily.

Mikey held Amelia down by the shoulders. She thrashed and screamed, making it impossible for anyone to do anything. Bob finally decided to use the most powerful sleeping spell he knew, one that would render her unconscious for at least a day.

Once she had stopped moving, Chuck took the ice and liquified it. He bent the water onto her shoulder.

"Gerard, take one of the kunai knives and cut the rest of her shirt away from her shoulder, would you?" Chuck asked.

He did as he was told, which made it easier for Chuck to get at the wound. Chuck tried to close up the wound as much as he could. He stopped the wound from bleeding and bent the excess blood from around the wound and placed it in the sink.

"So, is she okay?" David asked.

"I'm not sure. She's unconscious but the wound isn't bleeding anymore. It's tough to say," Chuck said.

"Her heart is still racing, though," Mikey said.

"Yeah, and she's still sweating," Pierre pointed out.

"Do you think she could be infected?" Seb asked, hoping it wasn't true.

"Does she have a fever?" Ray asked.

Chuck took a small amount of water and gently bent it onto her forehead. The water evaporated almost instantly.

"Well, that's not normal," Jeff pointed out.

"Let's get her to a hospital. I think Chuck and I have done all we can," Bob said.

Everyone agreed. Mikey gently picked Amelia up and cradled her in his arms. Though she was sleeping, she still twitched occasionally.

The group rushed her to the nearest hospital.


	18. Chapter 18

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The boys walked out of Amelia's room and down the hallway to the elevators. It was a small hospital, so there were only two elevators. Gerard pressed the button to call the elevator and everyone waited for the elevator.

"Hey guys, you know that since there are only two elevators, we all won't be able to fit in them at once, right?" Ray asked, forever the logical one.

"True. If that's the case, we'll go down in groups. Mikey and I will go down first, then Dave, Seb, and Pierre. Ray, Frank, Jeff, and Chuck can fit 'cause you guys are all relatively skinny, or in Frank's case, short," Gerard said as Frank flipped him off. "Oh, and Bob and Chuck, you guys can make it down last."

"I see how it is," Bob remarked, feigning hurt.

At that moment, the elevator dinged and Gerard and Mikey stepped on.

"We'll meet you guys out front," Gerard said as the door closed.

The doors closed and the brothers settled in for a nice ride down from the sixth floor. The elevator lurched and slowly began its descent. After a few moments, Mikey sighed.

"What's taking so long? We should be there already," he complained, and Gerard had to laugh at his younger brother's impatience.

After a few minutes, though, Gerard had to admit, Mikey was right. It was like the elevator had stopped moving, though both of them could still feel it going down. All at once, the car seemed to speed towards the ground and the lights flickered. Both of the brothers braced themselves for the impact, but it never came. Instead, the elevator ground to a halt and the doors opened slowly.

Mikey and Gerard stepped cautiously out of the elevator. Wherever they had landed, it didn't look like the hospital anymore. The walls were old and crumbling and there weren't many lights. Thankfully, the hallways were illuminated by the moonlight. There were no windows and everything looked dirty. There was a smell of death and decay lingering in the air.

"Toto, I have a feeling we're not in Kansas anymore," Gerard remarked to Mikey, who nodded.

"Do you think we're in the basement? Did we press the wrong button?" Mikey asked

"I don't think so. I pressed the lobby button. Anyway, let's just try and find our way out of here."

The two walked along the corridor, searching for an exit. All of the sudden, Mikey's ears perked up.

"Wait, Gee, do you hear that? Listen. It sounded like a voice."

"Mikey, I didn't hear anything."

"Come on, let's follow it! Maybe they can tell us where the exit is!" Mikey exclaimed as he rushed off.

Gerard ran after his brother and grabbed him by the arm.

"Wait a minute, Mikey! We don't even know where we are. We need to stay together."

As he said this, the two of them suddenly heard something. Gerard shushed Mikey and they listened intently. It sounded like a little girl, singing.

"Nice try, guys. We know you're just trying to scare us. Well, it won't work!" Mikey shouted.

"Uh, Mikey, I don't think that was anyone we knew."

Mikey ignored him and began to walk in a different direction. When he did, Gerard suddenly saw something run in his peripheral vision. Mikey must have seen it too, because he started to growl.

It ran past them again, and this time, Mikey ran after the thing! Gerard chased after his brother, their footsteps reverberating off the empty walls. The thing giggled as it ran, and Gerard noticed that it sounded feminine, and oddly familiar.

It finally came to stop under a light and both of the brothers got a good look at it. It was wearing a powder blue dress and it had dark hair that fell in waves down its back. Mikey stepped back towards Gerard, visibly shocked. Gerard actually began to shake, unsure of what he was seeing.

"S-Sara? Sara Ann? Is that you?" he asked.

The figure turned around to face him, and, sure enough, staring back at him was his sister, though her throat was torn open and her dress was stained with blood.

"Hello, brothers. Good to see you again," she said with a curtsy.

Gerard swallowed the lump in his throat and took a deep breath.

"What are you doing here?" he asked, unsure if he wanted to hear the response.

"Waiting, for the two of you to show up. Don't you want to play with me?" the thing asked, smiling.

"Sara, that's impossible. You're...you're dead! You've been dead for 150 years!" Mikey exclaimed.

She laughed, a cold and emotionless cackle.

"That's very true, Michael. But you would know all about that, wouldn't you? You were supposed to keep an eye on me that day," she said as she twisted her hair around her finger absentmindedly.

"Mikey, what's she talking about?" Gerard asked as Mikey began to sweat.

"N-No. That's not true!" Mikey said.

"Oh, but it is, Michael. Mom told you to keep an eye on me that day. She didn't want her little baby going out into the woods that day because of the vampire attacks. But no, you had to go down to the creek that day, with your friends, leaving poor little me alone and defenseless."

"No...no, I would never do that!" Mikey insisted, balling his fists at his side.

"But you did! You left me alone, Michael! You were supposed to protect me, but you failed!" she cried.

Gerard looked from his sister to his brother, utterly confused. What was she talking about?

When he looked at Mikey, he could see tears running down his brother's face.

"Sara...Sara, I'm so sorry. I...I never meant for that to happen," he whispered.

"It doesn't matter now, does it, Michael? You let me die! You cared more about your friends than your sister! YOU KILLED ME!" she screamed and Mikey let out an anguished howl and sank to his knees.

Gerard was truly scared now. He had never seen Mikey so torn up and it worried him.

"Mikey...Mikey...Mikey, listen to me! She's not real! She's not there! Whatever you're seeing, whatever you're hearing, it's not Sara! It's probably just another one of Carden's illusions," Gerard said as he shook Mikey, trying to get him to return to his senses.

"No, no, no, no, no! It doesn't matter, Gee. It doesn't matter. I failed her and I know it!" he whimpered.

The thing in front of them laughed again in the same evil tone. Gerard, fed up with this, ran at the illusion, intending to destroy it. That's when everything around them faded, and suddenly the brothers were on the street, staring at a decrepit old building where the hospital once stood.

Everything they had gone through had been an illusion. Gerard looked at the building and only hoped that everyone else had gotten out safe.


	19. Chapter 20

**Back at the Dandies' new mansion**

And before long they were home, the illusion that had been post-poned was now back on and AJ looked as sick as ever.

The second Adeline walked into the master bedroom and saw the little box sitting on the nightstand, she squeaked and dove for it, winding the spinnet on the bottom before lifting the lid, staring attentive at the music box.  
William walked in about a minute later, pulling the shirt he'd been wearing over his head, thoughts already drifting to how the night would end.  
He already knew she wanted to be wrapped in his arms, unable to make a sound as his fangs became buried in her neck, their nightly rendezvous long overdue. He laughed as he looked at her sitting cross-legged on the bed, tilting her head to the rhythm of the music.

"Look at you, you're like a five year old.  
She grinned, "So? I still expect you to be nice…and thanks…" she replied, getting up and walking over to her, wrapping her arms around him in a hug.

"For not letting me die."

He smiled, laying a kiss in her hair, "I'd never, love. Not in a million years."

She giggled, "Hm….this whole illusion's going to be way too easy to pull off," AJ sighed as she turned over, wanting to crawl into bed. Almost immediately she felt William's fingers work their way into her hair.

"How so?"

"Well….I figure, once she thinks this illusion's gone on long enough, I'll sneak over to the hospital, into the birthing center where they keep the newborns, find one with blonde hair and brown eyes, kill his mom while she's sleeping, and then – come back here and there's the proof. Of course I'll have to really fake being tired for once but….I'll manage fine. Then we send pictures, and the bloodbath returns to our front door, except this time, I'm going to kill her." She explained, laying down as he crawled in next to her.  
"Love, surely you wouldn't…that girl has risked her life for you more than once, you know."

"I know that! But she can't see that I don't even want to go back to those days…" AJ looked up, curling closer to William, her head on his chest, "I want to stay here….where I know it's safe, and I'll be loved."

"Okay, now that's sounding more like a lost puppy."

"Can you blame me?"

AJ giggled, stopping when she heard branches breaking, staring wide eyed at the French doors leading to the balcony, and to whatever had made the noise below it.

"Ssshh, darling, it's only the-" he paused, as if he was thinking but then added, slightly annoyed, "I told them to control the bodies, to not lead them up by us. You'd think they would know not to anger someone that knows the area better then they themselves."

"Wait…what? I'm confused."

"This all started before your friends even arrived. You know by now that Spencer is a clairvoyant, he sees the future. We knew they were coming for you, and your idea leading to the illusion that we're in now has prolonged the tension. I contacted a few necromancers a few days ago to help dispose of your friends incase our battle failed to do so. If I'm right, being their puppets are travelling this way, they should have found what they were looking for. Now, there's a bit more to my point, but if I say anymore I have doubts you'll go through with it."

"Which is what? It can't be that bad…it's not like you're going to have the boys cut me open, are you?"

"No, nothing of that sort. Well, this illusion, that you're pregnant and all….it's taking a toll on Mike, and quite frankly, the idea that I want to put into action needs him at his full potential."

"So we're terminating this illusion." She answered dejectedly, the word sounding as though she had being talking about getting an abortion then rather the effects fading away.

"Yes…you see, my plan? If the necromancers did their work, the demon should be in the hospital. That hospital, as you know, isn't really a hospital, rather…another illusion. My plan is that we lie low a few days, then send her some encouragement, a 'get better soon' if you will. Then, we strike."

"How?"

"The elevators. We can rig them to separate the group, as they most likely won't travel alone. That's where Mike comes in. He will create enough madness to slowly drive the divided group out of their minds." William finished, smiling.

"Hm…and where do I come in?"

"Well, my dear, I'm giving you the chance you didn't have tonight. To kill the demon. You'll be at full strength since the pregnancy illusion will have faded, and that alone should give you the upper hand. Not to mention as a hybrid you carry my DNA."

AJ grinned, closing her eyes.

Killing Amelia was just the thought she needed to send her into peaceful dreams, William's arms around her all the while.

The group rushed her to the nearest hospital. They burst through the doors and the nurse who was working at the admission desk looked up.

"Can I help you?" she asked.

Before Mikey could reply, Bob walked up to the counter and explained the situation.

"Yes, you can, miss. You see, our friend here," he started, gesturing to Amelia, "was attacked by a zombie, and there's a possibility that her wound might be infected. We want some tests run and we want a doctor to see her."

"Of course, right this way," the nurse replied as she led the guys into the ER.

About an hour later, Amelia was set up in a room. She was hooked up to various machines and IV's. The doctors came in and examined her. They determined that she was not infected with a zombie virus, but they gave her antibiotics just to be safe. The doctors also decided that she should stay in the hospital for a few days.

The days passed slowly, the boys coming each day to visit and then leaving when visiting hours were up. One day, as Amelia was watching old reruns of 90's cartoons on Boomerang, a nurse came in.

"Amelia Clearwater?"

She looked up, "Yes, that's me. Can I leave yet?"

"Well, no, not quite yet. Sorry to bother you, but your friends are here, and this came for you, someone dropped it off this morning." the nurse said, handing Amelia an envelope just as Mikey, Seb and the others came into the room.

"Hey Mimi, what's that?" Ray asked, motioning to the envelope she held.

"I don't know. Nurse said it's for me and someone dropped it off this morning...wonder what it is?"

"Open it. It's not like it's going to be a bomb." Pierre added, curiosity getting the better of him, not realizing how oddly morbid the joke had sounded.

"Well, there was that anthrax scare, but...it's just a letter, probably. What could the worst be?"

She opened the envelope slowly, unsure of what to expect.

Pulling it open, she found a card. It was a simple one, a light green background with a elm tree and flowers on the front, a sun sending warm colors cascading in the painted sky. Opening it, she was surprised when a small piece of paper fell out.

And then she read the inside of the card, blinking to be sure that's what it really said.

'Hoping for your speedy recovery, and that you remember that although the skies may be storming today, there's always a rainbow on its heels.'

It wasn't the writing that had startled her. It would have been a nice card, had William Beckett not signed it.

"Mimi...you okay? You look really pale," Gerard said, reaching for the card as she grabbed the piece of paper that had fallen out. As she looked at it, she immediately recognized the handwriting.

It was AJ's. And written on the little piece of paper, appeared to be a poem.

_"Never trust a stranger, friend No one knows how it will end_ _As you're pretty, so be wise Wolves may lurk in every guise_ _Handsome they may be, and kind, Gay, or charming never mind..._ _Now as then, the simple truth: Sweetest tongue has sharpest tooth..."_

What the hell was that supposed to mean? Not even bothering to think about the creepy poem, she handed the card off, not wanting to be near it.

"How the hell did he know that she'd been hurt?" Gerard wondered, not surprised Beckett had decided to do something like this.

"One of his men can see the future, maybe they knew she'd get attacked." Chuck added.

"Or-" Amelia started, "Or he's the one that sent those things after me...If he was sired here, he probably knows enough of the locals to have a small army under his control to get rid of people like us..."

"That does seem like it's plausible...what's the little slip of paper?"

"It's a poem, from AJ. It's weird because I don't really get it. Is she trying to tell me something?" Amelia asked, passing the little paper to whoever could figure it out. "It seems pretty simple if you look at the wording. I think she's saying don't trust anyone, and because you're pretty you're prone to underestimate people...and the last part is that the nicest people sometimes have the worst intentions." Bob said after looking over the poem, leaving the others to stare dumbfounded at him for a moment.

"Really? That was like," Amelia snapped her fingers, "That. Had we been able to find AJ in Slane castle in that amount of time, she might be here with us, not in the big house with that...thing getting ready to kill her," she added, mind wandering to how AJ was actually dealing with everything.

"I think Bob is right. With AJ working with Beckett, we can't trust anyone. Especially not her," Mikey said, nodding in agreement.

The boys stayed with her all day. At about 9:00 p.m., a nurse came in and announced that visiting hours were over and would the boys kindly please escort themselves out. Everyone hugged Amelia and said their goodbyes.

"Don't worry, Mimi, we'll be back as soon as visiting hours start tomorrow," Mikey assured her.

"Sleep well, okay? Don't let the zombies get you," David said jokingly.

Seb glared at him and smacked him upside the head.

"Ow! Hey, I was just trying to be funny!" David complained as he rubbed his head.

Seb said something to him in French and the ones who could understand him laughed. After that, they all filed quietly out of the room as the nurse nodded in approval.


	20. Chapter 21

Frank, Ray and Jeff got onto the next elevator. A few minutes passed in silence before Jeff spoke.

"Shouldn't these doors have opened by now? We weren't that high up, it shouldn't take this long to reach the lobby."

As if his words had set off the wiring, the elevator jerked to a stop and its doors opened. The trio stepped out, looking around. This looked nothing like the hallway they'd been in to find the elevators. The building was old, and smelled musty. The lights weren't even working properly!

"Freaky. Where the hell are we, Ray?" Frank asked as he looked around, noticing how odd it was that an elevator had worked it what appeared to be such an old building.

"No clue. There's got to be a way out of here though!" he declared as he stepped forward bravely, hoping to find an exit door within the next few minutes.

Jeff was the next to traverse the seemingly impenetrable darkness, and Frank followed after the two oni, senses on overdrive.

Was he hearing things? Or was it just his mind playing tricks on him? No, he heard another cry. It almost sounded like a little kid. Who would leave a little kid in such a depressing place?

"Hey, if you're lost, I'll help…come by the next light, okay? You don't have to be afraid…" Frank tried saying, hoping to coax the child out into the open where he could see it.

And when he turned around, it was there. A little girl, no older than five, was crouched in a lit area, head in her hands, sobbing quietly.

"Hey Ray? Jeff? You guys go on…I'm gonna take care of something really quick," he yelled, hearing the others' replies and fading footsteps.

"Hey, sweetie, what are you doing in here? Come on, let's go find your family," Frank said, gingerly setting a hand on the girl's shoulder. She sniffled and then coughs, looking at him.

Her eyes were a brilliant ice blue, her hair a mousy brown, matted and tangled in several spots.

"I….-hick-…Mister I have n-no f-family. I was l-left h-here." She stuttered, wiping her nose on her sleeve.

"Well, let's get you out of here then, okay? My friends can find someone to take care of you…how does that sound?"

The five year old smiled an unnatural smile for such a girl so young. It was…creepy, to say the least.

"Thank you for the offer, mister. But I'm afraid I have to feed…"

"Y-You have t—to-" Frank stumbled back, his hand hitting the wall. Pulling it away and looking at it, he yelped. His hand was covered in the webbing from a spider's web.

_'I hate spiders…please, please don't let this be like Lord of the Rings…or Harry Potter for that matter….'_ He thought,

"Too slow!" the girl yelled, and the next time he looked at her, it wasn't her! It was a spider, a gigantic black mass of….Frank shuddered.

This spider, or what was left of the girl, was roughly the size of Argog, easily three times Frank's size. He let out a shocked scream, trying to remember how to move as it began to advance.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

As soon as Ray and Jeff heard Frank scream, they turned around and began to run back toward the  
short vampire.

"Frank, what the _fuck _is _that_?" Ray yelled, taking in the sight of the large arachnid that was chasing his friend.

"A giant spider, apparently! You just going to stand there, or are you going to help me?"

Ray and Jeff both unclipped their bracelets and were about to taking a running start at the monster when a familar voice startled them.

"Hey guys, need some help?"

It was Chuck.

"Wait, how did...You didn't come down with us!" Jeff wondered, confused.

"Figured I'd see what was going on. Gerard and the others are fine, they're in the lobby." he replied, beginning to bend the moisture in the air, enough to form a water whip he could fight with.

"ARE YOU GUYS DEAF?" Frank yelled again, sounding at little more freaked out then normal.

"Now, I think if he remembers he can summon fire, he'll be fine." Chuck said, waving off his cry for help.

"But you two, on the other hand, you need a scare."

Jeff and Ray both looked at each other. Something didn't seem right. This wasn't Chuck. But that meant-

"Carden." Jeff spat, shaking his head.

"It's another stupid illusion," Ray agreed, "But how the hell do we-" Suddenly he was cut off, making a gurgling noise. Jeff looked at him and saw his mouth had filled with water, and he was choking. He looked at 'Chuck', whose gaze was focused on Ray's throat.

Jeff suddenly knew why 'Chuck' was doing this. Onis like Ray and himself were terrified of water, feared drowning more than anything else. What better way for Carden to torment them with the illusion of a waterbending friend being the one to kill them?

"FINE! I'LL JUST- oh, hey, I'm such an idiot! I can summon fire!" Frank realized, small fireballs appearing in his hands as he charged at the gigantic spider. The same time he did this, Jeff went for the illusion of Chuck. Just as Jeff's fist was about to hit Chuck, the trio was engulfed in a bright light and then everything went black.

When the trio opened their eyes, they were outside! Gerard and Mikey came running up to them, having obviously been expelled from the building in a similar fashion.

"What the hell happened to you guys?" Jeff managed to ask, still shaken by the sight of Chuck drowning Ray.

"Carden's illusions. You guys get hit too?" Frank and Ray nodded along with Jeff.

"I hope Seb and the others aren't dead...these illusions are really works of twisted art," Jeff added.

The others could only nod in agreement.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Speaking of Seb and the others, the other members of Simple Plan had their hands full.

Seb, David and Pierre had taken one elevator down together, Chuck taking the other by himself.

"I swear to god, this is like that Scooby-Doo episode we did, except we can see it!" David yelled, turning to avoid running into a wall.

"Passons sur le fait, courez!" *Never mind that, run!* Pierre yelled back, just as the creature turned to go after him.

"What's with you switching all of a sudden?" Seb asked, trying to decide if he should confront this monster head on or let the other two bend it into submission.

"Je pense que je pourrais mourir, okay?" *I think I might die, okay?* he replied, trying not to laugh despite being in his current situation.

"Yeah, we all might if one of us doesn't do something." David chastised as he bended a gust of air at the creature, distracting it from its current path.

"Wait, why is this even here? I mean…this isn't the hospital we were just in," Seb added.

"Well," Pierre started, bending a suitable canopy of ground to keep the beast from impaling them, "Who else do we know that wants us dead?"

"Beckett."

"And how does he do things?"

"This is probably another one of those- oh, crap, guys, we've got company!" Seb yelled, dashing around the cover and jumping at the beast, intending to claw its eyes out.

Suddenly, everything went black.

"Illusions." Seb finished, panting slightly. How the hell were they outside? And more importantly, where were the others?


	21. Chapter 22

Meanwhile, Chuck had his own problems. He stood in a deserted hallway, but he wasn't alone. There appeared to be all his friends around him.

"You didn't learn waterbending from a master," Pierre was saying, "You're not a real waterbender."

"What do you know, Mr. I Can Make Rocks Fly Into People's Heads?" Chuck asked in response, still a little shocked his friend would say something like that.

"Oh, just that I can name tons of drummers that are better then you, shall I start?" Jeff threw in, laughing at the hurt written across Chuck's face.

What the hell? Jeff's remark took Chuck back a few steps. He, being a perfectionist, wouldn't settle for being told someone was better then him if it was something he was doing wrong.

"Shut up. I'm perfectly fine."

"Ha. Y'know, we should like, during practice, if anyone messes up or you drop a drumstick you'll have to do pushups," Seb suggested.

"That way we could all watch you." David added smiling, voice a little too cheery to be the David Chuck knew. That's when it hit him.

He'd taken the elevator down by himself. There was no-one else with him. But if he was alone - his friends were an illusion!

Taking his pick of who he wanted to make disappear first, he settled on Jeff, for the drummers being better than him comment had really hit he.

Lauching himself at the illusion of Jeff, he stopped short, bending a water whip from the skein he kept at his side. What better way to take them out when they themeselves had said he didn't know what he was doing?

As Chuck went to sweep across the group with the stream of water, he lost his focus and realized everything had changed. He was outside now, and he found Jeff and Seb running towards him.

"You alright? We though you were dead!"

"Uh, you guys weren't just in there with me, were you?"

"No, why?"

"Because you kept saying things to me and I was getting ready to kill you all..." he explained, still slightly confused. But as he saw Gerard and two of his friends and Gerard's brother, he realized this had been nothing but a huge trap.

"Carden?" he asked, suprised he had figured it out so quickly.

Everyone present nodded.

"So who we waiting for?" Pierre asked, interrupting the moment of quiet.

"Just Bob, looks like it. And maybe Amelia, if the doctor let her g- wait, that's not a real hospital. What if she's in there?" Mikey answered, before starting to freak out.

"Calm down, I'm sure she'll be able to handle whatever Carden throws her way...Bob'll be fine as well. Let's just wait for them." Gerard reasoned.

Bob looked around the empty corridor, making sure that there weren't going to be any final surprises before he left Amelia. Oh, how wrong he was.

He stepped onto the elevator and pressed the button for the lobby. At first, it was a nice, slow descent, but suddenly, the elevator went shooting towards the floor! Bob's legs buckled underneath the sudden increase in speed and gravity. Eventually though, the lift stopped and Bob was able to exit.

The first thing he noticed was his surroundings. It wasn't the nice and clean hospital he had been in just moments before. This seemed different. The walls were crumbling and there was a scent of death and decay so strong that even he could smell it, and he didn't have a super strong sense of smell. It was pretty dark and Bob guessed that there wasn't electricity.

"Lumos," he whispered and his hand glowed with light. He walked cautiously, not sure of what to expect. As he walked down the hallway, he heard footsteps following behind him, but every time he turned around, there was no one there. It wasn't until he actually saw something run in the corner of vision that he fired off a spell at it. As he was about to cast another spell, he heard a voice.

"Robert?" called a voice. It was a female voice and it sounded familiar. It sounded like...

"Laura?" he answered, but received no reply. "Laura, where are you?"

"I'm in here, Robert," she answered and Bob followed the sound of the voice. He walked into a room and saw his wife Laura, standing in the corner. He was instantly filled with all sorts of emotions.

Her blonde hair fell in a wave of curls down her back. She was wearing the same outfit that she had when she died, a green polka dot wrap dress with a feathered hat.

She was leaning against a wall, smoking a long cigarette.

"Laura, what are you doing here?" Bob asked as he walked closer to his wife.

"I've been waiting for you, Robert," she said as she turned her back to him. He reached out to brush her hair from her neck, as if to reaffirm that she was actually there, that she was solid and real. To his surprise, she was. If he concentrated enough, he could smell her perfume. It perturbed Bob to no end. Where was he? Was he in some sort of heaven or hell?

He was drawn out of his thoughts by Laura, who turned to face him when he touched her.

"Why did you do it, Robert?" she asked as he gently stroked her cheek with his thumb.

"Do what, honey?" he asked, his eyes filling with tears because he already knew what she was talking about.

"Why did you kill me?" she whispered, and it chilled Bob to the bone. He trembled. He was at a loss for words.

"I, I, I don't know. I didn't mean to do it, honey, I swear. I don't know what came over me," he stuttered.

"But that doesn't explain why! Why did you do it, Robert? Why? Why? Why? WHY?" she screamed as she walked away from him.

Bob was about to go after her, when he noticed something. When she had said the word "why", her voice was different. It no longer sounded like the Laura that he had known. The voice was slightly deeper and had a sarcastic undertone.

"Hm, yes indeed. The ever popular "why" question. WHY did you do it? WHY didn't you try and stop yourself? Well, Robert? WHY?" asked a voice from behind him.

Bob gasped as he turned around. Sure enough, standing behind him was none other than Jon Walker. Laura was gone.

"Wow, and I really thought you were smart for a wizard. 'Why, Robert? Why did you kill me?'" Jon asked, his voice now sounding like Laura's again.

"No, it can't be," Bob said,his voice trailing off.

Before he knew what had happened, Jon Walker rushed forward and pinned him to the wall by his throat. The two were evenly matched in height, though Jon was far stronger. He laughed at the pained expression on Bob's face and the tears that had welled up in his eyes at the thought that his wife had never really been there.

"So tell me, Robert, how does it feel, knowing that you killed your own wife? How does it feel to know that you are the only one responsible for her death?" Jon asked as he squeezed Bob's throat harder.

"I'm...not the only...guilty one. You...you..." he choked out.

"Me? What about me? I didn't do anything wrong. The only thing I ever did was love a woman who didn't love me back. Is that so wrong?"

"You...you're a...monster," Bob said, though it was difficult.

"And you're any better? You're the one who cast the spell!" Jon insisted.

This remark made Bob angry. He regained his focus and blasted Jon away with a spell. Jon fought back valiantly and managed to hit Bob several times. Bob though, refused to give in. Just as he was going to finish Jon off, the scene around him began to fade away.

"We'll continue this later," Jon said before everything disappeared.

When Bob looked around again, he didn't know where he was. He was outside and he couldn't see anyone. The only thing he could do for a few moments was stand and cry as he tried to process what had just happened. He knew that whatever it had been, it hadn't been real, but that didn't make it any better.

Eventually, he was able to collect himself and he walked until he heard people. He managed to find the group, who were glad to see him. It seemed that everyone had made it out mostly all right. There was only one question left on everyone's mind.

"Hey guys, where's Amelia?" Seb asked.


	22. Chapter 23

Amelia ran, out of breath, trying to get away from the things she was seeing. Were the boys seeing the same things?

"_Come little children, I'll take thee away, into a land of enchantment, _

_Come little children, the time's come to play, here in my garden of shadows…" _a female voice sang, and then a giggle from the dark corner of the hallway caused Amelia to turn around, eyes scanning for anything that might jump out at her. She thought she saw a figure flit around at the edge of her peripheral vision, but when she looked around there was nothing there.

"Ne vous venir jouer? J'attends, Rae-rae…Tu n'as pas peur de l'obscurité, non?"

"AJ, knock it off. You know I know it's you. Show yourself!" Amelia yelled, hoping to seem braver the she felt. Running into her in the sort of building they were in couldn't be a good sign. And if AJ was here, it meant Beckett wasn't too far away.

"He's not here. It's just us. Isn't this great?" she cheered, stepping into the flickering light from a dying bulb overhead. At once Amelia realized she looked different. Her eyes seemed to have more life, and she looked more herself.

The noticeable bump Amelia had been able to see was no longer there, and in conclusion, she realized her first instinct had been right all along.

"So…" Amelia started, wishing she had at least some sort of weapon on her, "What happened to you? Finally let them kill it and get you back to normal?"

She almost smiled at the hurt registering in AJ's eyes, but then saw her friend smirk.

"I can't believe you fell for that. It wasn't real. Like William's said, there's nothing smoke and mirrors can't cover up. But we had everyone playing along…you should have seen the fights he and Mike got into over even continuing the illusion! William was convinced it would kill me in the end, which is why that little scene before our fight worked so well. Really made it believable, didn't it?"

Amelia was too busy trying to figure out what was within her reach that she could grab to attack the hybrid with.

"You're really shallow, AJ. All that, just to stay with him? You didn't have to punch me, you know."

She shrugged, "Hey, you play the game; you have to know the territory. Didn't think William was going to grab me though. "

"You think I wanted Gerard to stop me? I was about to rip you apart!"

AJ snorted, as if she'd been expecting that reply.

"Right…well, Mademoiselle i ne l'aurait pas fait de toute façon, Here's your chance. " she taunted, smiling.

"No boys to stop us? I think," Amelia nodded, itching for a fight, "I'll take it."

"You're funny. Never thought this is how it would end. Be if that's how it's gonna go, so be it." AJ reasoned, taking off the bracelets she wore, along with her headband, leaving blonde curls to spill down around her face.

"Don't want to wreck these, I'll never hear the end of it." She said softly, setting them down on the ground. When she looked up where Amelia had been standing, she wasn't there!

"Really going to be that way, are we? Can't we lay some ground rules first?" she wondered innocently, hoping to gain the upper hand from the get go.

"Like what? No weapons. I won't transform into the demon if you don't phase. Agreed?"

AJ nodded, it sure sounded like a fair enough fight.

"Fine by me. But bear this in mind…I've been bitten not once, but twice by two different powerful individuals. Don't think you have a chance of winning." She boasted, grinning to reveal her fangs.

Amelia just shook her head; she was getting just as confident as Beckett was. And without warning, began to run.

AJ easily blocked her first punch, rolling her eyes as she'd anticipated the strike.

"Predictable."

Aj's hand closed around Amelia's other wrist as she threw another punch. AJ crossed the older girl's arms and held them tight, smirking as Amelia's feet stomped at the ground, trying to free herself.

"First rule? Always have a backup plan, in case you get stuck in the unfortunate predicament you're in now."

"And AJ?"

"What?"

"Shut up." Amelia said, in turn twisting and kicking out, hoping to trip the other. AJ let go of her, and Amelia glared at her.

'_My Lady…if you need to fight, go ahead. I'm letting you have control." _She told the demon.

"_My child, if that is your will, I will ensure this monster does not live another day." _Illysha replied, causing Amelia to nod.

At once Amelia fell to the ground, the sheer agony of the possession taking over. She could feel her body bending at unnatural angles, and she though she heard what sounded like bones breaking, although it was hard to hear over how own heartbeat, pounding steadily in her ears.

As Amelia stood and stretched, Illshya's wings folding out behind her, she smiled. Now who had the upper hand?

"You bitch." AJ growled, crossing her arms and pouting, "You said you wouldn't turn into the demon. That's not fair!"

"Hun, are you really complainin'? I lied, so what….like you haven't before." The demon shot back, walking towards AJ, one clawed hand resting on her shoulder.

AJ winced slightly at the claws going through the knit bolero she wore. As long as it wasn't cashmere, she was alright with it.

"I lie to my advantage. What you just did didn't do you any good. See the trick is, to play it up until you know you have the upper hand. In this case, it's a moot point, because I can still kick your ass."

AJ snarked, closing her eyes momentarily, preparing to phase.

"If you want to play dirty, let's go. Let's see what those fangs and claws can really do. I'm not afraid of skinning that fur right off," Amelia replied just as fast.

Both girls blinked, and then, in a blur of shouts and pounding hearts, the two were at war.

Amelia had turned into the demon, AJ had phased into her wolf form. Each was trying to steadily pin the other down, and then land some sort of debilitating blow.

Amelia had hooked claws into AJ's shoulder, pulled them out and then lunged at the wolf, aiming to slash at her ankles, where it would hurt to move. All the while, AJ's jaws snapped at the large wings.

"Catching butterflies much?"

AJ opened her mouth again to growl, but seeing her chance, jumped and bit down hard on Illshya's wing as the demon swerved to lash out at the fur of her underbelly.

The demon gave a cry of pain as AJ followed animal instinct and shook, mentally smiling at the sound she was hearing. It sounded as though the feathers were tearing away from the flesh, the flesh itself ripping.

Dropping the injured demon, she stepped on her stomach, allowing her claws to rack across the soft flesh that wasn't covered by her armor. The sight of the blood appearing in thin lines made her mouth water, but she knew there'd be a better time to feed.

She looked into the demon's eyes, and she saw…pain? Anger? Sadness? Making the mistake of letting up her paw, she didn't move quick enough to avoid a kick to the chest, which caught her off balance and sent her flying back into the wall not ten feet away.

The demon grinned as the wolf hit the wall, an unmistakable crack being heard, and judging from the pitiful whimper she'd just heard, something was broken.

Walking toward the mess of fur laying unmoving by the edge of the wall, she knelt next to it, finding AJ's face, her fur around her muzzle turning red with blood. The wolf opened her mouth to growl, but Amelia was quicker, summoning a quick burst of hellfire and lightly touching AJ's nose.

"It's hurts, doesn't it?" she asked, one hand laying on what would have been AJ's cheek in human form.

Amelia curled her fingers, watching the wolf's eyes widen in pain.

"Get used to it, you stupid mutt."


	23. Chapter 24

It was too late before she realized what she'd said, who she'd sounded like. She didn't have time to ready herself for AJ's reaction. At once the wolf tried to stand, her jaws opening in a low howl as her paws slashed the air, trying to hit the girl in front of her.

Amelia cursed as one of AJ's paws came across her face, the nail leaving a nice scratch just below her eye. Had she aimed a little higher, Amelia would have been blinded.

"Fine. Your choice." she said through gritted teeth, summoning the hellfire again, heating her hands before forcefully wrapping one around AJ's snout and lower jaw like a muzzle. As she did this, her other hand went to rest on the wolf's ear.

Knowing why she felt like being so sadistic towards her ex best friend, she decided to shake her up a little more and bring memories. Gently rubbing the soft down-like fur on her ear, Amelia almost smiled. Maybe AJ was right, that she and Carden thought the same. Because honestly, as Amelia thought, she realized not only had she'd copied his exact words, she was also torting the same way.

"Don't worry girl, this won't hurt." she started, her smile growing as AJ's eyes widened, remembering.

"Much." she added darkly as she removed the hand keeping the wolf's mouth closed, that hand moving to slash a suitable gash in one of AJ's calves, the hand on her ear pinching it as the wolf howled in pain.

"See? It's not.." her other hand, nails red with AJ's blood, joined the one on her ear, "So bad, is..." here her hands tugged at AJ's ear, claws sinking into the thin layer of flesh, satisfied to see it tear, and blood to seep into the blonde fur. "It?"

AJ didn't make a sound, she didn't want to show weakness. Didn't want to acknowledge she'd been beat. But, oh, how everything hurt!

She could barely manage to keep quiet, eyes blazing with pain and rage. Unable to hold back a whimper, she felt sick when she saw the smile on Amelia's face. The demon's wings had retreated, and Amelia was back in human form, blood visible in several cuts, her normally neat braid undone.

Amelia stood up, looked at the bloodied mess she created.

"I think I'll leave you. Maybe, if your precious Bilvy comes, he'll value you enough to put you out of your misery. Nighty-night, sugar." Amelia said slowly, bending down to ruffle the fluff between AJ's ears, like she was a dog, not a wolf. And just to further humiliate the hybrid, she tipped AJ's head up, and lightly kissed her muzzle, crinkling her nose at the slight taste of blood against her lips.

Standing up again, she looked at the wolf one more time.

"It didn't have to be this way. Just remember that, when he finds you. If he finds you."

And with that, Amelia walked back down the way she'd came, the elevator signal already lit.

She took the elevator down, and thankfully, there were no more surprises, other than the fact that the building they had been in wasn't really a hospital. It was just a decrepit, old building. As the elevator made its slow journey back down to the "lobby", Amelia's head started to spin. AJ had really done a number on her. She was bleeding in several spots and it was difficult to see straight. When the lift finally came to rest, it took Amelia a moment to steady herself.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Ryan, Jon, Spencer?"

The three youngest vampires nodded at their names as William addressed them.

"When did you last see Brendon?"

All three looked at the floor before Jon spoke.

"He was helping Mike. That's the last I saw of him, anyways."

William blinked, and turned to begin to pace the hallway of the decrepit building.

Everyone was quiet for a few minutes. Then, Brendon came walking down the stairs, humming something with a glimmer of pride in his eyes.

William almost ran up to him.

"Why are you not where you're supposed to be?"

"I just wanted to watch Gerard's group squirm. Mike really did a number this time around, I don't think they'll ever-"

At this point, William's worry had gone to his head, and he grabbed the collar of Brendon's dress shirt, fighting the urge to hold him up against the nearby wall.

"Where is Mike? I told him to meet us here in precisely twenty minutes, regardless of Gerard's is late." William said, dark eyes continuously looking around for any sign of the dark haired vampire.

"Look, if I knew, I'd go find him. Why are you so...freaking out? It's not like he's dead," Brendon pointed out, causing William to glare.

"He's not who I'm worried ab-"

At that moment, a drained looking Mike Carden staggered down the steps Brendon had come down not five minutes before.

Brushing his black bangs out of his face, the first thing Mike noticed was the look Brendon was giving him.

Somebody was in a shit load of trouble.

"Hey William, the illusions worked. We should probably go hunting tonight before we had back, I feel like I'm gonna pass out. I've never had to focus so much in my life."Mike started, expecting the worst.

William slowly turned around, lip slightly curling into a snarl. Something was wrong, and he wasn't too thrilled.

"Mike, you wouldn't have any idea where Adeline is, would you?" William asked, voice tinged with something the younger vampire had never heard in it before.

It almost sounded as though he was genuinely worried for her.

"No, I wish I did. But I believe keeping an eye on her was," he looked at Brendon and smiled, "Brendon's job, wasn't it?"

Brendon mouthed 'screw you' and flipped him off but when William turned to him he straightened up.

"So…Brendon…have you seen Adeline?"

The native Vegas vampire shook his head, "I'm sorry….she begged me to let her on the elevator, to go after that demon. I knew I shouldn't have let her…"

"You didn't stop her?"

"I thought you wanted her to fight. She's on the top floor…" Brendon supplied, hoping he could avoid the elder vampire's anger if things did indeed be as bad as he imagined.

"Well, then we find her. Ryan, Spencer, Jon – do fetch us snacks for when we return home, would you? We should be home in roughly forty-five minutes…"

The three nodded as William ran for the elevator, Brendon and Mike in tow.


	24. Chapter 25

AJ turned her head at the sound of the elevator door opening. All she could hear was a ringing in her ears, and the taste of blood wouldn't leave her mouth. She was still in her wolf form, having no energy to phase back.

Her single good ear perked up at familiar voices, and she tried to howl, let them know where she was. Even that was harder said than done.

As William, Mike, and Brendon stepped off the elevator, their gaze was instantly drawn to the large mass of fur underneath a flickering bulb. It was AJ.

Mike and Brendon looked at each other, the 'hope she's not dead, otherwise we are' look obvious. William, on the other hand, took off at a slight run, collapsing to his knees besides the injured wolf.

She feebly lifted her head to lick at his hand, her muzzle stained red with dried blood. Her hazel eyes begged for any reassurance that things were okay, and as he looked her over he saw the demon really had left wounds.

"It's okay….you're okay…" William started, shrugging of his jacket and rolling up his sleeve, biting his wrist. Holding his arm out to her, he wasn't surprised to see her eyelids flutter closed as her tongue snaked out to lap at his wrist.

"Jesus, William, what happened?" Brendon asked eyes wide at AJ's mangled form.

"Seems the demon fought a little harder than I expected. We'll wait here until she phases, and then I'm going to need help."

"How?" Mike asked, equally startled by her appearance.

"See all the dried blood on her? The way she's laying, it's safe to assume at least a few ribs are broken. There's a large cut in her calf here, she won' be able to walk. Her ear is torn as well…" he started, his hand gently stroking the fur on her face, noticing claw marks here and there.

She opened her mouth to whine, but instead no sound came out. Then, she felt the adrenaline. It wouldn't be long before her wolf form faded. And shortly thereafter, all she saw was black.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Amelia walked out of the elevator and out of the doors. She looked for the guys and found them about twenty yards off. She stumbled over towards them, trying to not fall over.

"Mimi, are you okay?" Chuck asked upon seeing her.

"What happened?" Seb asked immediately after.

"Well, let's just say that AJ found me and we got into a little fight. Don't worry though, she's worse off than me. I really messed her up," Amelia said as she stared at the ground, trying to focus on something so that the world would stop spinning.

Suddenly though, the world turned upside down and her heartbeat thudded in her ears. She swooned and fell over. Gerard was right there though, and caught her with ease.

"Come on, Mimi, we need to get you back to the hotel so that Bob and Chuck can take a look at you," he said as he picked her up bridal style and gently cradled her in her arms.

"You're not going anywhere!" exclaimed a voice.

Everyone turned in the direction of the voice. Standing in front of them were Beckett and his men. Beckett was holding AJ in a similar fashion, though she looked far worse than Amelia did.

"You're going to pay for what that little demonic bitch did to Adeline," Beckett said venomously.

He handed AJ off to Brendon, who took her gently in his arms.

Beckett took a running start at the group, intending to destroy them. His anger was making his telekinetic powers tangible and the energy came in the form of black bursts of energy. Before he could do anything, Pierre stepped forward, his right leg bent slightly and his back leg straight. He raised his hands up in the air and the earth beneath his feet responded by forming a giant wall of earth.

Beckett ran around the earth wall, but Pierre was smarter than that. He quickly lowered his hands as if he were signaling a symphony to cut off and the earth turned into quicksand below Beckett's feet. He struggled, but could not get free. Pierre took the opportunity to launch a boulder at William. It crashed into him and sent him flying.

Determined, he got back up again and this time, used a whip of telekinetic energy to redirect one of Pierre's boulders towards the group. Pierre safely destroyed the rock before it hit anyone and at that moment, David smiled knowingly at Pierre and disappeared.

He reappeared behind Beckett and tripped him. He landed on his hands and knees and this time, Pierre turned the earth into quicksand again and Beckett stayed there.

The three newer vampires were ready to avenge Beckett. The one named Spencer tried to fight them, but Jeff easily tackled him and knocked him unconscious. Ryan used telekinesis to pick up one of the boulders and throw it towards Pierre, but David used his Airbending to redirect the boulder back at him. He narrowly dodged it. He then tried to fight using the Firebending that he had stolen from Chislett against David. David, however, was too fast for him. He ran circles around him, literally and, when the time was right, he summoned a huge gust of wind and blew him away.

Carden stepped forward to try and do something, though it was obvious he was exhausted. Chuck decided to join in on the fun and used his Waterbending to gather up all of the moisture in the air. For once, he was thankful for all of the humidity. He turned the water into a giant stream and bent it at Carden, who was too tired to move. Chuck froze the water to the ground, leaving him trapped.

Just when Jon Walker was going to use his special powers to manipulate the situation, Sebastien ran at him and tackled him to the ground. He clawed across his chest, leaving a nice gash. He turned to the others, who were staring at Sebastien's friends in amazement.

"What are you guys just doing, standing there? Go on, get out of here!" Sebastien yelled.

"No, we're not leaving you!" Ray declared.

"No, it's fine. Go! Run! Save yourselves, we'll hold them back!" Sebastien exclaimed.

Gerard, knowing it was pointless to argue nodded and took off running. The others followed behind him.


	25. Chapter 26

They made it quickly back to the hotel. Gerard laid Amelia on the bed and Bob, shaken as he still was, steadied his hands and began to assess her injuries. She was bleeding badly in several spots and there was a huge bruise on her back. She explained what happened as best she could, and when she said one of the demon's wings had been injured, Bob understood why her back was bruised.

He healed her the best he could, but she would still need Chuck to look at her when he got back. Amelia said that the fight had exhausted her, so Bob gently closed the doors that separated the large room from the other half of it and sat down to talk to the others.

Gerard was sitting in a high-backed chair, his head in his hands. Mikey was pacing around, talking to himself. Frank was laying on a bed, his arm stretched across his forehead, resting. Ray was watching Bob as he got a bottle of water from the mini-fridge and drank some of it. When he offered it to Ray, he looked at Bob like he was crazy and had just asked him to gargle liquid nitrogen.

"So," Bob started, unsure of what to say. He didn't know what kinds of illusions Mike had prepared for the others, but whatever it was, it mustn't have been good if everyone was reacting in this way.

"Yeah," Frank replied from the bed.

The silence that resulted was almost deafening.

Finally, Gerard got up and put a hand on his brother's shoulder. Mikey turned to look at him and there were tear stains on his face.

"Mikey, when we were in the "hospital", what did the illusion of Sara mean when it said you killed her?" he asked, trying to understand his brother's misery.

It was another moment before Mikey composed himself and took a deep breath.

"That day," he started, his voice shaking, "Mom told me that I had to watch Sara. There had been reports of savage vampires in the forests by our house and she didn't want her going in there."

Gerard nodded, vaguely remembering something like that happening.

"Anyway, I didn't want to watch her. It was close to a full moon and I was so damn antsy and irritable. Some of my friends and I were going down to the creek that night for a swim, try and run off some energy, you know? She kept following me around and it really irritated me, so I told her to get lost. She ran off and I lost track of her. When you came and found me and said that Mom wanted me and Sara to come back so that she could eat before we went out hunting, I freaked out. I didn't know where she was."

"So you panicked and went to the first place you knew she would go if she wanted to get away?" Gerard asked and Mikey nodded.

"I only hoped that I was right and that she had gone to the forest. By the time we got there, well, you know what happened next. God, Gee, if only I hadn't been so stupid and yelled at her, maybe she'd still be here! Maybe I wouldn't feel like such a failure as a brother!" Mikey exclaimed.  
"Mikey, don't blame yourself for what happened. You couldn't have known that something like that would have happened to her. You're not the one who killed her - Mike Carden is," Gerard said and Mikey turned away from him.

"Yeah, and you're not the one who has to live with the guilt. If I hadn't been so stupid!" he muttered.

He walked out onto the large balcony and slammed the door. Gerard turned to look at his friends with a sort of ashamed look.

"I'm sorry about him. He's just...a little shaken up, that's all," he explained. Everyone nodded because they too, were going through some kind of hell.

Gerard decided to take matters into his own hands. He used the hotel phone and called his mom. He explained the situation and asked for his mom's opinion. After a few moments, she explained that Mikey had told her what had happened but he had left before she could say anything. She said that she didn't blame Mikey at all for what happened. There was no way to know how things could have turned out. Gerard, relieved to hear this, thanked his mom and hung up.

"Well?" Ray asked, the first word he spoke in almost an hour.

"My mom doesn't blame him for what happened. It's the same thing I said, but he's too stubborn to listen," Gerard replied.

Everyone nodded. It was quiet for a moment before Sebastien and his friends burst through the door!

"Hey guys, we're back!" David yelled, and Seb whacked him upside the head.

"Dave, you're being too loud. Shut up," he said, while gesturing to Amelia who was resting. Gerard and the others got up and went to meet them.

"Are you guys okay?" Bob asked.

"Oh yeah, we're fine! Never better," Pierre said with a huge grin.

"And Beckett?" Gerard asked.

"We easily took care of him. They ran away like scared little wussies!" Chuck said, beaming.

"Good job, guys! If it was so easy though, what took you guys so long?" Frank asked, sitting up.

"Well, after our victory, we decided to stop somewhere -" Jeff started before David interrupted him.

"WE GOT ICE CREAM!" he yelled, laughing and holding up a large paper bag. ***priceless***

At the mention of ice cream, or because of David's yelling, Amelia opened her eyes and sat up. Seb glared at him for waking Amelia up.

"Ice cream? I love ice cream!" she said, wincing slightly as she tried to rearrange herself on the bed.  
"Are you okay?" Chuck asked.

"Well, I managed to heal most of the lacerations, but she has a really bad bruise on her back that I couldn't get rid of," Bob explained and Chuck nodded.

"Okay, everyone else, go in there while I heal her," Chuck instructed and everyone else went into the other half of the room. Before he left, David took out a huge dish of chocolate ice cream with cookie dough pieces and set it on the table next to Amelia. He smiled and winked at her and she smiled in return.

Chuck turned on the water in the sink and let it get warm. Not hot, but warm enough to soothe.

"Okay Mimi, if you have a bruise on your back, I'm going to need to see it. Do you mind taking your shirt off so I can look at it?" Chuck asked, forever a gentleman.

"That's fine," she replied. She gently removed her top and tied her long hair up so that it was off her neck. She turned away from him so that he could see her back.

He whistled at the sight of the bruise. It covered her entire left shoulder and it was an ugly mark. It was dark purple, though the edges had already started to yellow.

"Damn, that looks really bad. What happened?" Chuck asked as he moved his hands. He bent the water into a small stream and then concentrated it enough to fit over the entire bruise. He gently touched the water to the bruise and Amelia jumped at the initial contact. Eventually though, she relaxed into the water as Chuck began to repair things on the cellular level.

"Well, AJ and I got into a fight but she managed to hurt me while I was in the demon's form. She ripped one of Lady Illshya's wings, and it manifested itself as this giant bruise when I turned back," she explained.

"Oh, I see. Well, how does it feel now?" he asked as he removed the water from her back and inspected the wound. It had healed nicely.

"It feels great! Thanks," she said as she put her shirt back on.

"No problem," he replied.

Amelia got up and grabbed the ice cream. She joined Chuck in the other room with the rest of the guys. David handed her a spoon and she sat next to Sebastien and ate the ice cream.

After a few minutes, she looked around.

"Hey Gee, where's Mikey?" she asked.

He pointed at the door that led to the balcony.

"He's out there, sulking. When we were in the hospital, we saw an illusion of our sister and she  
accused him of letting her die, which isn't true. I even called my mom and she said that no one was blaming him for Sara's death, but he refuses to listen. You can go and talk to him, but do it at your own risk," Gerard explained and Amelia nodded.

She got up from her seat and walked out onto the balcony. She closed the door behind her.

"Go away, Gerard. I don't want to talk to you," Mikey said, his back turned to her.

"It's me," she said, but he didn't look at her.

He was standing against the railing, his arms folded on top of the rail, looking out into the dark sky.

She walked up next to him and followed his line of vision. She didn't see anything and frowned.

"What are you looking at?" she asked.

"I'm not looking, I'm just thinking. Thinking how I'm a horrible Lycan, I'm a horrible brother, just an all around not good person."

"Well, that's a load of crap. There's nothing wrong with you," Amelia refuted and he scoffed.

"And what makes you say that? I couldn't even protect my own sister, what makes you think I can keep you safe?" he asked, finally turning to look at her.

"That was then, Mikey, this is now. You need to stop living in the past and just forgive yourself. No one blames you for what happened to Sara. Not Gerard, not your mom...I'm sure Sara doesn't even blame you. It was an accident: something that no one could have seen coming."

"So?"

"So, that means you need to stop feeling guilty! No one blames you for Sara's death. You're the only one who blames yourself, and you shouldn't. As for me, you try your best to protect me, and that's all that I ask, and that's all that Lucian asks. So stop wallowing in your self pity! It's not your style. Plus, how can you be sad when I have chocolate ice cream with fudge cookie dough pieces?" Amelia asked as she waved her ice cream in his face.

Mikey had to smile. He stole Amelia's ice cream from her and ate some of it.

"You're right, Mimi, this _is_ good ice cream," he said with a smile.

The two of them walked back inside. Everyone was worried about what Beckett's next move would be, however, they decided that they would just enjoy their victory ice cream and go to bed. And they did just that.


	26. Chapter 27

When AJ opened her eyes again, she was back in the house, lying on the couch. She winced as she tried turning over, finding a hand on her side to stop her.

"You have to lie on your back, darling. If you switch positions too much, you're not going to heal right." William said gently, leaning in to kiss her.

"Wh-what happened?"

"Don't you remember, dear? You and the demon really got into it…you're lucky to be alive."

She tried to sit up, and to her surprise, he let her.

"Ow…ow…ow…" she panted softly, something didn't feel right.

"My guess is you hit a wall, because you had two broken ribs…they're almost healed now, thanks to Jon and Spencer getting enough blood…and Ryan's healing abilities."

"Oh…why does everything hurt so much?"

"You're still sore. Leftover adrenaline."

"Hm…" she sighed, closing her eyes before adding, "I never want to go through that again. That fight….she wasn't herself…she almost…it's like she was imitating Mike, back before he stopped trying to kill me," she explained, laughing although it hurt.

"Guess that just proves you're not the only one with a dark side. But after you completely heal, we need to plan. There's got to be a way to take down Gerard and his men for good."

Too tired to say anything else, AJ nodded, surprised she could still hear out of both ears. This time, sleep was a welcome friend.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The next morning, AJ woke up, surprised to find nothing hurt at all. Stretching, she smiled when she heard her neck and back crack.

"You feeling any better?"

She turned to see Mike standing in the doorway of the living room, a couple blood bags in his hands.

"Catch."

Catching the B+ bag with ease, AJ sat up and then motioned to the cushion next to her.

"You can sit, you know. I'm not afraid of you anymore. Truth be told it's the demon that's more of a problem."

"Really? I heard about what you said she was acting like and all that...William says you said she was acting like me..." he trailed off, sitting on the couch next to her.

"Yeah. It's funny really, she even called me a mutt like you used to. But I think by now you know I'm anything but."

He nodded, ruffling her hair before adding, "You're just the family pet."

She lightly smacked his shoulder, rolling her eyes.

"That's not true and you know it. Now that you've stopped trying to kill me, you're kinda like the big brother I never had."

"Then what does that make me?" Brendon asked, walking in, apparently having heard most of the conversation.

"Uh..." AJ sighed.

Mike smiled, finishing her sentence for her, "You're the other older brother then. But I'm her favorite, right Adeline?"

AJ's head dropped and she mumbled some stuff under her breath.

"What was that?" Brendon asked, poking her nose, eliciting a death glare with a smile from the hybrid.

"I don't like being put on the spot...You're both amazing in your own ways, but since the whole illusion thing was pretty frickin' epic I'm going to have to agree with Mike. Sorry, Bren." she added, "But you carried me all the way home after Seb and his friends kicked our asses, so you're tied."

"But that doesn't answer my question!" Mike complained, sulking.

"Oh, get over it."

"Get over what, dear?" William asked, he too walking into the room.  
"These two," AJ said with a smile, motioning to the vampires on either side of her, "Are arguing over who's the better older brother figure to me. Would you mind settling this debate?"

William looked at the three and shook his head.

"If I were, I'm afraid world war three would start. I'll just leave that to you." he said smiling, and AJ could tell he was trying to a hide a laugh.

AJ got up and walked over to him, absentmindedly standing the way she always did with him, her arms around his waist and her head on his shoulder.

She heard him sigh contentedly, and then felt him kiss the top of her head.

"You okay?"

"Uh hm. I just...I never thanked you for two days ago...I thought I was dead, Amelia even said she thought you'd put me out of my misery..."

"Put you out of your misery?"

"She assumed you would pity me and kill me to end my suffering. But I got her good, I ripped one of those wings almost clean off!"

"That's good...and no, I'd never...she doesn't remember I wouldn't be able to, does she?"

"I think she's trying to avoid even thinking about anything that says it's alright for me to be with you, see, she still thinks I can turn good...I don't want to though...but on the other hand, what_ are_ we going to do about them?"

"That's what I came in here for; I've got a few ideas on how to handle this. And this time, they're not getting away."

Once all of the ice cream was done, the group sat around, talking. No one knew what to say, but they didn't want to hear the silence.

Amelia was sitting next to Sebastien. She was exhausted from everything that had happened. She laid her head on his shoulder and closed her eyes. Before she knew it, she was sleeping, snoring softly. Seb chuckled as he picked her up gently and put her in bed. He closed the door and sat down to talk with the other guys.

"So, what do we do now?" Gerard asked.

Everyone shrugged.

"What about Lucian? Is he still in China?" Ray asked and Mikey and Sebastien looked at each other.

"Not sure. Let me call George," Mikey said as he got out his cell phone. He dialed George's number and waited for it to connect.

"Hey George, it's me, Mikey. Is Lucian back from China yet? Oh, he's not? He won't be back for another week? All right. Hang on," Mikey said as he got up and got a piece of paper. He wrote something down and hung up the phone.

"Well, George said that he won't be back for another week, but he gave me Lucian's cell phone number. I'll call him," Mikey said as he began to dial the number.

"Wait," Sebastien interjected and Mikey turned to look at him. "We've all been through enough today. Let's just rest and worry about Lucian tomorrow, okay?"

"Okay," Mikey sighed as he put the phone away. Everyone tried to sleep peacefully that night, but it was difficult to do with the memories of the illusions still dancing in their heads.

The next morning, Mikey called Lucian and put him on speaker as he and Sebastien explained the situation.

They recounted everything that had happened over the past few months, including Adeline going over to Beckett's side. When they were done, they held their breath, scared of what Lucian's reaction would be. For a moment, the Lycan leader was silent, which made Mikey and Sebastien all the more nervous. Finally, he spoke, his voice laced with anger and hatred, yet it was surprisingly calm.

"Tell me something, _Michael_, why does it always seem that whenever there's a situation, why am I always the last to know?" he asked and Mikey lowered his head in shame. Before he could say anything, Lucian continued.

"Even you, Sebastien. I would have thought that out of the two of you, _you_ of all people would have called me sooner. Well, I guess that's just something you have to learn as you age, right? I guess -"

"We're sorry, Lucian, we thought we could handle it," Mikey interjected apologetically.

"DON'T interrupt me," Lucian snapped and Mikey flinched at the irritation in his voice.

"As I was saying, I guess I shouldn't be so surprised that this has happened. Beckett _was_ the one who turned Adeline into a hybrid, so it's only natural that something like this would happen. When Remus first entrusted me with her care, he said that I must do whatever it takes to keep her safe. I fear that since she is so far gone, the only way she'll find peace is in death," he said and Amelia immediately interjected.

"No, no, no, no! There has to be another way!" she insisted.

"My lady, I know that you don't want to hear this, but think about it. She is with Beckett of her own free will. There is nothing we can do for her now. The only way for her to truly be free is to kill her. Think about it. If she were still on our side, would she want this for herself? Fraternizing with the enemy? I think not. You need to let her go. I know it's difficult, but this is the best way to help her," Lucian said, his tone softening.

"All right, if you say so," Amelia finally said, quietly.

"How do we kill her?" Gerard asked once everyone had settled down to listen.

"Well, as long as Beckett still lives, she cannot be killed. The logical thing to do would be to kill Beckett first. In order to do that, you must find his sire and kill them. Does that make sense?"

Everyone nodded, even though the Lycan leader could not see it.

"Do you know who sired him?" he asked.

"Lestat de Lioncourt," Amelia replied.

"I've heard that name before. Do you have any idea as to his current location?"

At that moment, the demon piped up in Amelia's head. _"Child, we are very fortunate to be in Louisiana. This was his home once he immigrated from France. Since he and I used to be "acquaintances" , I can sense his presence. He is in the state at this very moment."_

_"Thank you, my lady."_

"Lucian, according to the demon, he is here in Louisiana. We'll go and find him at once. Once we find him, we'll go after Beckett," Amelia said.

"So it's settled, then. Kill Lestat, then kill Beckett. After that, you'll finally be able to give Adeline the peace she deserves."


	27. Chapter 28

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Well...where's a staples button?" Mikey asked after Lucian had hung up, looking around the room.

Amelia shrugged, "I don't even know...a staples button? Wait - that's so cheesy!"

"What's cheesy about it? It's a button." Seb stated, confused.

"No, it's the concept. The staples button's tagline is, 'That was easy," and if I'm right, had someone in this room had one, Mikey would have pressed it so said phrase would be heard because now we have our work cut out for us," Amelia explained.

"Which is what?"

"Find Lestat, who is somewhere in Louisiana, and kill we go back to the Dandies new house, confront everyone, make sure to kill Beckett this time for good, and then I'll-" she faltered. As an assassin, she was used to talking about the jobs she received. But she couldn't bring herself to mention she would have to kill her best friend. For the demon, it was almost deja vu, back when AJ had been captured the first time.

"We get it. So, finding Lestat. How are we gonna do that?" Frank tried, cutting right to the point.

"Well, Lady Ilshya said she and him used to...know each other, so she knows he's in this state. Hold on, I'll talk to her and see what we should do," Amelia reasoned.

_"My Lady, we need to know where Lestat would be….you say he's in this state, do you have any idea where?"_ Amelia asked the demon.

The demon was quiet for a few moments.

"_Like any typical vampire, he is only out during the night. If I was to guess at where we'd find him, my best bet would be he'd be out prowling the town, perhaps the French Quarter, perhaps trying to entice the girls into a drink…in a sense, it's like you and Beckett and the Killjoy Club again."_

"_Oh…okay, so tonight, you're suggesting we be bait? Again, my lady? I don't want a repeat of what happened in Chicago…"_

_"No, certainly not my child. I am simply saying we find a bar he would be likely to visit, or perhaps we traverse the French Quarter's streets awhile, but allow me to have your mind, speak only what I tell you to incase he should appear."_

Amelia nodded.

"Well, Lady Illshya says we should hang around the French Quarter and see if he shows….then I'll lure him in, most likely by telling him I'm the demon, and then I'll distract him….enough for you guys to kill him."

Mikey's eyes widened.

"No. No. You're not getting yourself into a repeat of that bar…both in Chicago with AJ and the Killjoy Club! If even Lucian's heard of him, that means trouble! And you just got bite by….that thing….I know you're mostly healed, but you can't seriously jump in headfirst again!"

"Hey, if it'll kill me, I'll be an angel, that'd make me headfirst for a halo."

Gerard sighed.

"Mikey's right, Amelia. You're just healed, and I think laying low for just another day to gather a real plan and shake off what ever happened in that old building is a good idea," he agreed.

Reluctantly Amelia nodded.

"Fine. But tomorrow night, get ready for a fight."

"So what's the plan, baby?" AJ asked; giggling as she turned to sit on William's lap as the group was in the living room, discussing plans of action to take Gerard and his men down for good.

"AJ, you okay? You're a little-" Brendon started before she cut him off, "High? Heh, yeah, you could say that…Oh, Brenny don't worry, I'm ffiiinnnneee…." She drawled, giggling.

Both Brendon and Mike looked at Beckett for an explanation.  
"What can I say? After I got her upstairs for bed, she insisted on trying to entice me into other agendas, anything but sleep was on her mind, and I didn't want to encourage any behavior that could injure her farther, although most of her injuries have healed. I'm only taking precautions."

"So you drugged her." Ryan added, hiding a smile.

"Well, not re-….okay, maybe. I only spiked a bloodbag or two with a double dose of tramidol…just enough to keep her out of it," he defended.

"But she's still loopy." Mike pointed out, as it looked like Aj was now petting William's hair, her fingers curling in his layered bangs, her eyes wide as she stared.

"I miss your longer hair…why'd you cut it short baby, it was so….heehee, so you and stuff….and now it's like…eh…hm, the only thing that hasn't changed from five years ago is your body, oh, hehe you're still just as fit and baby when I lay down I don't even wanna sleep 'cause I know if ya kiss me it'll turn into somethin' and oh, baby you're just ah-mazing i-"

At that point, William put his hand gently over her mouth, trying to shush her, along with a glare.

"I think that's enough, darling." He looked over at Ryan and Spencer, both seemed to be laughing.

"What's so funny, you two?"

"Oh no, I think I want to hear the rest of this. Some girls, you get them drunk or high and they turn into walking diaries….can't keep secrets in for the life of them…seems like she's one of them." Spencer explained.

William almost nodded in agreement, but then AJ pulled a typical mortal child's trick and licked his hand.

"Really, dear? Resorting to childish tactics?" She only batted her eyelashes in reply.

William dropped his hand from her mouth, hoping she'd know better than to say anymore.

To his surprise, she only curled up into him, her head resting on his shoulder, her legs over the arm of the couch. She sighed, as though she was calming down.

"Are you okay now?" he asked, wanting to get to the real point of having everyone in one place.

"Yes William…except my head hurts and I'm a little dizzy…" she said softly, lifting a hand to her head to rubs circles on her temples.

"I gave you a muscle relaxer so you would zonk out…seems the effects of it are just wearing off now, you've been on a high for a few hours…"

"Oh…" AJ looked around, seeing the others. "Great. When I drink or I take high grade painkillers, I get…loopy, I can't shut up about stuff, and I get really frickin' annoying…"

Everyone nodded in agreement with what she'd said, and then (had AJ still been able to) she knew she'd be blushing.

"So anyways….the plan," William started.

"I've invited an old friend of mine over to help us, and he's had experience with taking down hunters like the one's we're dealing with. Actually, he should be over momentarily," and at that moment the doorbell rang.

AJ immediately got up to answer it. Standing at the door was a tall, lean vampire, dressed in a Victorian frock coat and a suit, though it was darker than William's. His blonde hair spiraled in lose curls identical to her own down to his shoulders, and she could see his eyes were a steely gray.

Not wanted to look like an idiot or be rude, AJ curtsied to the vampire as he was far older than her if William had referred to him as an 'old friend'.

She could feel the older vampire staring, and she was still startled as he spoke, his voice just as velvety as William's.

"Dear, you needn't curtsy. I'm delighted to meet any girl that's charmed William. By the looks of it, he's already captured your heart."

AJ straightened and backed up into the room, the vampire following. Sitting back down on William's lap, she smiled when the realization hit.

The vampire was William's sire.

"Lestat." William spoke, his tone calm and yet eager at the same time, as if he couldn't wait to 'catch up' on old times.

"William, how lovely it is to see you again. If I may say, your coven seems to have grown, and the girl certainly is a beauty. Though truth be told I would have expected she'd be holding a little one," he added with a smile towards AJ.

AJ grinned shyly,_ "Merci beaucoup, copain de ma mari."_

She didn't know why she was speaking French all of a sudden, only that she knew it made her look older.

Lestat's smile widened, "Ah, so she speaks my native tongue. William, she is definitely one to keep around."

"I've already turned her. You're not going anywhere anymore, are you sweetie?" He asked, laughing softly as he kissed her neck, easing a slight squeak out of AJ, who sighed in agreement.

"But enough of the catch up chatter. Lestat, I need your help. There's a gang of hunters after us, and – well, we can't take them down alone."

"Who exactly is the group after you?"

"Two oni, an earthbender, an airbender, a waterbend, two lycans, a wizard, a demon, and three vampires." He explained, and he noticed as soon as he mentioned the demon, AJ bristled.

"Well, that's quite a challenge, isn't it?" It wasn't a question.

"We've tried direct confrontation, illusions to drive them off task, and outside manipulation. Nothing works, and I damn well almost died." AJ explained.

"Died?" Lestat wondered, seeing as William had turned her this shouldn't have been possible.

"Well, I'm a hybrid. I was bit by Fenrir Greyback when I was three years old, and then I found William shortly before I turned nineteen. It took me a good week to warm up to him, then he sired me. It's a long story how the demon knows me, but it's five years later and she's coming after me. We got into a little tussle about three days ago, and, well-"

"She had two ribs broken, a shattered wrist, a fractured ankle, torn ear, multiple scratches and lacerations, a giant gash running through her calf and could barely open her eyes," William finished for her, his arms wrapping around her protectively, as though if he let go she might slip away into the state he'd found her in.

"Hm...and you said that just the demon managed to do that to you?"

"Yeah, she's the demoness of hell actually. But for my part, I managed to almost rip of one her wings clean off and screw her up in the process. In her human form, she's really quite fragile. But when the demon takes over, oh, it's-"

"Did this demon have a name?" Lestat cut in, curious to know if the girl spoke of the demon he'd known long ago.

"Uh, well, it's Illshya or something like that," the blonde reported, turning in William's arms to snuggle closer to him, almost as though she was cold.

Lestat froze, his memory rewinding. This was the name of the demon he'd once...known as a lover, although he was sure her host had changed. He stood, plan already in his head.

"Well, William, I can lure the demon away from the main group for a time. Would that allow you and the rest of your coven to dispose of the other hunters?"

"Hell yes. Just getting the demon away takes away a large portion of their power. I can hold my own against the lycans and the vampires, and these guys will be perfectly fine with the rest of the hunters. And besides," she turned to look at William, and Lestat instantly recognized the look of molten admiration and desire in her eyes. Clearly there was something she wanted, and he was pretty sure after he left she was going to make sure she got it.

"With you, there's nobody that'll stand in our 't that right, darlin'?" she drawled, her voice slipping into a slight southern accent before she giggled, "Whoops...I'll just go wait for you then," she decided, getting up off his lap and walking up toward the bedrooms, a slight but barely detectable sway to her hips.

If William hadn't been watching her figure, trying to figure out how to talk her out of it, he wouldn't have noticed. He turned to look at Lestat, who had been watching him watching her.

As the older vampire moved toward the door, William got up.

"Lestat...thanks for stopping by. This means a lot, that you'd be willing to help. I just can't believe we can't shake them, and I don't want to endanger Adeline more than I already have..." he paused, seeing Lestat raising an eyebrow.

"Even her name is French...fits her well. I'm happy for the two of you, it seems after all these years you're finally settling down some...I can tell how much she means to you, with the way you were holding her and now the way you just said he name...William, you probably already know this, but...don't let her go. You only find them like that once every thousand years," Lestat reasoned, smiling as he heard her call downstairs for William.

"You'd better go, she shouldn't be kept waiting." Lestat said finally, turning to leave.

William nodded, shutting the door after him, sighing as he leaned against Lestat's words ringing in his head, he made his way upstairs to the bedroom, only to find Adeline resting up on her elbows, looking at him expectantly.

"What?"

She giggled, turning over as he leaned down to kiss her.

"Even your sire expected your mate to have a child by now! Do you not see something wrong with this? I told you we should've just gone through with the illusion! I could have totally snuck in a hospital and stole a kid! I mean, vampires in some cultures are meant to go after babies and pregnant women, I mean in one culture, the vampire steals babies and kills them! Granted I'd be turning it, not killin- well it's the same thing and-"

She blinked as William put a hand over her mouth, kissing her forehead, his other hand reaching to slip the straps of her babydoll off her shoulder. Immediately she scrambled back on the bed, burying herself between the comforter and the sheets.

William sighed, dropping his head in a 'typical...here we go again' gesture. As he crawled under the covers next to her and his arms found her body, he asked, "Really? You wear that and then you don't-" his hand ghosted over her bare leg, coming to rest on her hip, making her eyelids flutter, "Even let me get it off you?" he murmured against her skin, his breath making her shudder in anticipation.

AJ bit her lip, damn him for knowin_g just _what to do to turn her brain to mush .She huffed, "I'm still pissed about the illusion thing." She almost thought she heard him laugh.

"Oh come on love, you can't hold that against me forever." She turned to face him, mouth stuck in a scowl.

"Oh really? Try me, William. Because as I recall, we'v_e got_ forever to be together."

William rolled his eyes and then kissed her hair, starting to run his fingers through the thick curls.

"Well then, let's see how long you can keep it up for...I'm much looking forward to the silent treatment if you're ever going to get that far," he mused, not catching her glare.

"Silent treatment? For men, that's a blessing, not a curse. I'm not stupid. And for you, I wouldn't shut up. So it'd be the opp-" she yawned. William smiled, kissing her forehead again.

"You need sleep. And I'll keep in touch with Lestat, I trust he'll let us know when the demon's been taken care of," he reassured.

AJ nodded sleepily, her eyelids already refusing to stay open.

"Ok.. but tell the boys I want blood in the morning," she said, her voice beginning to falter in its volume.

"Now, would I forget that?"

And with a final giggle, AJ quite literally zonked out, but this time it wasn't due to high-grade painkillers.


	28. Chapter 29

Amelia and the rest of the gang decided to go along with the demon's plan, so the next night, they went down the French Quarter to have a look around.

"Mimi, are you sure this is a good idea? I mean, what if there's more of those….things around?" Seb wondered, looking around for any signs of those zombie like things that had attacked her.

"I'm sure Illshya knows what she's doing. Now, I need you guys to let me wander off a bit, see if I can lure him out, okay?"

Mikey immediately protested.

"Let you wander? We're back where we started if you get bit again. I don't trust this place, not if Beckett knows anyone that lives here…"

"Mikey, I'll be fine. I promise. Just trust me!"

He went to speak again, but Gerard put a hand on his shoulder, "She'll be fine. She can always transform if she's in danger."

Reluctantly Mikey nodded, "Fine. But I'm still gonna trail you, just to keep an eye on you. I'm not letting you die like I let Sara Ann."

And with that, Amelia took off, intent on exploring the nearby bars and shops.

As she was looking over one of the street vendors selling gumbo and bowls of crawfish, she caught a twenty something blonde staring at her. He made her feel uneasy, but she couldn't figure out why.

_'My Lady, is that-" _She asked the demon.

_'Yes. Approach him cautiously, invite him for a drink, say you don't know the area very well.'_

Heeding the demon's advice, she nodded a thank you to the vendor and then turned to walk toward the vampire, noticing he was watching her.

"I saw you starin' and I can't help but wonder, you lonely tonight? Perhaps you'd join me for a drink?" she asked, looking up into gray eyes.

"Yes, that would be lovely. I'm looking for someone in this area anyways. Maybe you could help me find her?"

"Oh, so you're after a girl…your girlfriend run off?" she started, surprised by the ease of the conversation.

"Not quite like that…I'm looking for a demon in human form. I don't know what she looks like." Amelia's eyes widened.

_'My Lady, what do I say now?'_

_'Only what I tell you to from now on.'_

_'Okay. So..._You may not recognize me seein' I've changed hosts many times since our last meetin', by, Lestat, it's Illysha." Amelia said, the demon's words slipping off her lips.

"Lady Illshya…my, you've – you're a bit younger, yes I see it now. What brings you to New Orleans?"

"I'm visiting a friend of mine, she lives here. What have you done lately?"

"Oh, I've been…around, you could say. Killing has got easier with the way people consume alcohol around here, and it just so happens one of my sires happens to live in the area." He continued.

"Who's that? I only thought you had Claudia and Louis with you these days….or have they been killed?"

"Them? My dear, they're long ago betrayed me…but who I was visiting just yesterday, I'm sure you've met. Does the name William Beckett ring any bells?" Amelia tried to keep a straight face, but she couldn't help feeling her lip curl in a snarl.

"So I see you've met. I'm assuming the friend you were visiting is Adeline, yes?"

Amelia blinked. What the hell? If he knew about AJ…that meant Beckett had already talked to him, which meant Lestat could already be tipped off to the plan Lucian had suggested. Where the hell was Mikey when she needed him?

Once William was sure that Adeline was asleep, he too, closed his eyes and tried to sleep. Unfortunately, he was woken up in the next instant by screaming. The screaming was coming from one of the rooms downstairs. It was the room that Ryan shared with Spencer.

Sighing, William got up and went to investigate.

-

After William and Adeline both went upstairs, the other guys also did the same. They were still fairly exhausted, especially Ryan and Spencer. The two went into the room they shared, changed into pajamas, and tried to fall asleep.

Before long, Spencer heard Ryan start to snore lightly. He rolled over and sighed. He tossed and turned for an hour, but sleep would not come. It frustrated him to no end. His head began to ache. It started as a dull throb in one spot on his head that eventually spread to his entire head. He didn't think anything of it.

Suddenly though, the pain became intense. He opened his eyes and sat up. The pain was like thousands of tiny needles being driven into his skull. He tried to open his mouth to try and wake Ryan up so that he could do something, anything, to get rid of this awful pain. When he did, the only thing that came out was a scream.

He stood up and tried to walk, but he immediately fell over, clutching his head. It felt like his skull was splitting right down the middle. He squeezed his eyes shut as images started flashing in his mind.

_There was a man with blonde hair and grey eyes. He was talking to that demon girl. Suddenly, people came out of nowhere. It was Gerard and his men! The two Lycans ripped the vampire to shreds and Spencer felt every ounce of pain. Then the group began to walk and eventually, they reached the house. It was like Spencer was an observer, watching the scene from afar. He saw them approach the house and knock on the door. The moment that one of them opened the door, they pounced and tore everyone in house to shreds. He continued to scream, but he couldn't even hear anything. All he could hear was static ringing in his ears as the images slowly faded away. Then everything went black._

_-_

Ryan climbed into bed after saying goodnight to Spencer and fell into a nice and peaceful sleep. Suddenly, he was roused out of his sleep by the sound of screaming. He bolted upright and looked over at Spencer, who was out of bed. He tried to get up and walk, but he immediately fell to the ground.

Ryan leaped out of bed and tried to comfort his friend. He knelt down next to him as he started shaking. His screaming only got louder.

"Spencer! Spencer! It's me, Ryan! Spencer? Are you okay? SPENCER!" he yelled, trying to be heard over his friend's screams.

He rolled Spencer onto his back, unsure of what to do. The door behind him was thrown open as William, Mike, Brendon, and Jon rushed in.

"What's wrong?" William asked as he knelt down next to the screaming vampire.

"I, I, don't know. I was sleeping and he just started screaming. What's happening to him? Why hasn't he stopped screaming?" Ryan stuttered. Spencer had had visions before, but he'd never screamed for this long. Ryan didn't know what to think. He looked at Brendon, who shrugged.

"Wow Brendon, you don't even know what's wrong with him? Some sire _you_ are," Mike remarked and Brendon hissed at him.

William looked at the both of them. "Enough. Since he is clairvoyant, he is probably having a vision."

Everyone nodded. Eventually, Spencer's screaming got quieter and it was eventually reduced to nothing more than the occasional whimper. Ryan scooted forward and brushed his friend's sweaty bangs off of his forehead.

"It's okay, Spence, it's okay. Just come back to us. Come back to us," he murmured, sweet nothings to try and keep himself sane.

One of the older vampires ran to get a washcloth and they placed it on his forehead.

Spencer began to stir a few minutes later.

**-**

Slowly, Spencer began to regain consciousness. He first gained his sense of touch. He was laying on a hard surface that was definitely not his bed and there was something cold on his forehead.

He opened his eyes and everything was fuzzy. He could see forms sitting above him and for a second, he didn't know what to think. Then his vision cleared and he was looking into the concerned eyes of one Ryan Ross.

"Ryan? What happened? I feel like I got hit by a truck," he muttered groggily.

"You had a vision. What do you remember? Can you sit up?" William asked, sitting next to Ryan.

Spencer took Ryan's outstretched hand and gently sat up. He massaged his temples as one of the other vampires offered him a glass of water and some aspirin. They let him sit in silence for a few moments before William prodded him again.

"Spencer, do you remember what you saw?" William asked.

He looked at William, his eyes wide as the memories came flooding back.

"Death," was all he said, barely a whisper.

"Who?"

Spencer took a deep breath and another sip of water before continuing,

"I saw your sire, Lestat. He was talking to the demon girl. They were alone, from what I could tell. Then, they attacked. It was the two Lycans. They ripped him to shreds, and I felt it! I felt every claw, every bite! They killed him!" Spencer yelled as his breathing began to increase.

Ryan put a hand on his shoulder to try and calm his friend, but it didn't help. He looked at Jon pleadingly. Jon knelt down and looked Spencer in the eyes.

"Spencer, listen to me. You have to calm down. Just take a deep breath. Everything is all right. You need to tell us EXACTLY what you saw, okay? Can you do that?" Jon asked, his voice calm.

Spencer's breathing slowed and he nodded.

"All right, so Gerard and his men killed my sire. What happened next?" William asked.

"Then they walked out of wherever they were. They came here next. None of us survived. I have a feeling that we're next," Spencer admitted.

His words chilled Beckett to the bone. If Gerard and his men had killed Lestat, they could now kill him. And if they were truly on the way to the house right now, everyone, including Adeline, was in danger. He needed to act fast.

"All right, if that's what you saw, that's what's going to happen. We need to prepare. Jon, you stay with Spencer so that he doesn't have another fit. Brendon and Ryan, you come with me. We are going to need all of the weapons we can find. Mike, I want you to keep watch. The moment you see them, you are to tell me immediately. I need to go get Adeline to safety," Beckett said as he got up and walked out of the room.


	29. Chapter 30

For being a vampire as old as he was, Amelia thought Lestat didn't put up much of a fight. Maybe it was because he knew he was outnumbered? The fight itself hadn't been that hard on anybody, between three benders, two onis, three vampires and two lycans, the group had taken the elder vampire down with ease.

Maybe he had finally accepted his fate, knowing he was going to die and figured it was time?

The stake had stuck in his body, but Amelia realized his body wasn't turning to dust like most vampire kills she'd delivered.

Before she had time to ask why, Mikey and Seb had picked up the vampire's body, heading into an area where not many people were around, where they could truly dispose of the they set the body down, they phased and began to tear it limb from limb, breaking it apart.

"Hey Gerard, why isn't he turning to dust?" Amelia asked, noticing Frank was juggling two small balls of fire across his palms.

"Well, he's an older vampire. There's a certain magic that protects us, if we're any older than 250 or something, I forget what age it is exactly, but, if you're over that age a stake alone can't reduce your body to ash. You have to burn it as well as staking, though typical hollywood myth these days recommends ripping the body apart and then burning it."

"Like we're doing now...and you said Twilight was stupid. Looks who's taking advice from sparkly fairies..." Amelia joked, seeing the firelight from the vampire's burning body reflecting in Gerard's eyes.

"I'm not taking advice, I'm just saying that's what most humans think they're going to have to do to kill us. They've got no idea that we prefer weapons to kill each other with."

"Right...but...so that Lestat's dead, that means we'll be able to kill Beckett now, right? I mean that's what Lucian said. You guys probably aren't up to going after them right away, so I'd think tomorrow night we go back to the house and kick their asses once and for all. And maybe burn the house down while we're at it, just because sometimes, a fire is a really pretty thing to look at."

She paused and laughed.

"What's that for?"

"Fire is a pretty thing to look at - I sound like AJ...she liked to set stuff on fire, loved taking a lighter to dreamcatchers and watching the flames spread over the wax coated twine..." she reminisced, remembering the one time AJ had almost burnt down her entire collection of Edgar Allen Poe poetry and HP Lovecraft books because she lit the dreamcatcher hanging beneath the books on fire.

"Yeah, spending a day getting ready for the final confrontation would be a good idea. It'll give you time to...prep yourself for what you...well, what Lucian said you have to do."

She sighed, "Don't remind me...That's the last thing I want to think about right now..."

Amelia fell quiet, listening to the crackle of the fire, remembering the Christmases she'd spent in front of fires and AJ's, staying up just to see if Santa was real, even though they were far too old to be believing in such a silly concept.

After the body had been sufficiently destroyed, the group headed back to the hotel, and set about getting ready for the final showdown with Beckett and his men the following night.

* * *

_"When I look into your eyes It's like watching the night sky_  
_Or a beautiful sunrise There's so much they hold…"_

AJ grumbled as she realized one of the boys was playing Jason Mraz on the stereo downstairs. It happened to be one of her favorite songs, so it was alright.

"Adeline dear, wake up…sweetheart, up. Now." William called softly. She sighed, her eyelids still closed. She could feel his fingertips tracing light patterns on her back, and then she felt him kiss her shoulder blade.

"Lemme sleep…hm…lev'me 'lone," she whined, rubbing at her eyes, turning over to kiss him good morning, only to be met with a sad smile.

"You wake me up and you're already dressed?" She stated, mildly annoyed at the sight of William already having a shirt on, although the top two buttons weren't done up. But then she noticed how quiet he was, how something seemed wrong.

_"And just like them old stars I see that you've come so far_  
_To be right where you are How old is your soul?"_

Sitting up slightly so she could lean over and kiss him, her fingers fastened the top two buttons.

_'What the hell? He's like Edward…is he dead?'_AJ thought, seeing as it seemed William had frozen into the kiss, became unresponsive.

She pulled back and bit her lip, looking around, unsure what was going on. She went to rest a hand on his face, but he grabbed it and instead looked into her eyes. She knew something was really wrong now, just from the look in his eyes.

_"I won't give up on us Even if the skies get rough I'm giving you all my love I'm still looking up.."_

"William, what's going on? Why are you li-" and before she could finish her sentence, he pulled her face to his, kissing her with a fervent passion that was both gentle and powerful at the same time.

"Adeline….it's Spencer. He's had a vision. Lestat's been killed, and…we're next. I can't lose you, Lestat told me to keep you around. I'm only doing this to keep you safe." He started, getting up and walking over to one of the dressers, where AJ saw a backpack was resting on top. William began opening the drawers of the dresser AJ knew her stuff was in, and watched with wide eyes as he started throwing stuff into the backpack, pacing back and forth.

"Wait, I don't understand!" She said, getting up, almost tripping over the sheets as she went to stand between the path he'd been taking from the dresser to the backpack.

"I know, darling. It's for the best." He said slowly, only causing AJ to step in front of him and stand on her tiptoes, her hands on his shoulders.

"William, tell me what the fuck is going on this instant! You're scaring me and I don't like it!" she yelled, and he noticed she had tears in her eyes and she was shaking slightly.

He sighed and picked her up, then sat down on the bed with her in his arms, cradling her as though she were a small child, still feeling her shaking. He took a deep breath as she nuzzled her head into the crook of his neck, and then spoke, as the stereo downstairs continued playing.

_"And when you're needing your space To do some navigating_  
_I'll be here patiently waiting To see what you find…"_

"I'm keeping you safe. That group, like you said, the demon with them, are heading right for our front door. From what Spencer saw, I don't want you part of that. Ever. If you do what I tell you to from now on, you'll be safe, dear, and no one will be able to get you. I'll come for you when it's all over, and then you and I will stop at a hospital and we can really make that child dream of yours come true," he explained, smiling as her glassy eyes lit up.

"R-Really? Y-You p-promise?"

He hoped she hadn't noticed him gulp, hoped she didn't realizing he was lying – if there ever was a time he regretted lying to someone, this would be it, and so, he replied,"I promise."

_"'Cause even the stars they burn Some even fall to the earth_  
_We've got a lot to learn God knows we're worth it No, I won't give up…"_

As the bridge of the song came up, William listened to the lyrics, wishing the song wasn't playing Something about it just made him realize how much he truly loved her, what he needed to do to protect her, sacrifice himself so he could prove he wasn't the selfish bastard everyone always thought he was.

_"I don't wanna be someone who walks away so easily_  
_I'm here to stay and make the difference that I can make_  
_Our differences they do a lot to teach us how to use The tools and gifts we got_  
_yeah, we got a lot at stake And in the end, you're still my friend at least we did intend_  
_For us to work we didn't break, we didn't burn _  
_We had to learn how to bend without the world caving in_  
_I had to learn what I've got, what I'm not and who I am…"_

He set AJ down on the bed and got up, calmly walking into the hall.

"BRENDON! TURN THAT STEREO OFF!" he barked suddenly, a certain edge to his voice AJ had never heard before now audible.

She shuddered; William really was acting….different. What was wrong with him, and what the hell was going on? She jumped as William came back into the room, slamming the door behind him, and for a moment, she half expected him to turn around and punch a hole through it. Immediately she backed up on the bed, so much so that she was against the headboard.

It wasn't until he looked into Adeline's eyes did William see the fear – that look of pure uncertainty and complete distrust returning to her irises, a look he hadn't seen in a little over five and a half years. It wasn't until then that he realized how much of an idiot he was.

Gently, he sat on the bed, not close to her, fearing she'd lash out, but just far enough to where he could still comfort her if she allowed him to.

"I'm sorry…that must have looked really bad," he started, almost laughing; AJ couldn't tell if he was trying to laugh or if he was holding back tears. She had curled her knees up to her stomach and had wrapped her arms around them, and she was staring straight ahead.

"William, what's going on?" she repeated, the falter in her voice making his heart break.


	30. Chapter 31

"Adeline…listen to me, and listen to me very carefully. This backpack, it's yours, and I'm packing enough of your clothes for at least a week. You need to get away from here; I don't want you here when that battle knocks on our door. You remember Harry Potter, right?" he started, coaxing her into a smile, "Yeah, why?"

"This is like when James tells Lily to take Harry and run so Voldemort doesn't get them…you need to be Lily and leave for a little while, and then I can tell you when it's alright to come back."

Her eyes widened, and then she got up and walked over to him, throwing herself into his arms, crying, realizing what he meant.

"NO! No! If it's like Harry Potter, and that's who we are, we die! I'm not letting you die, William! I can't! I'm not leaving you! " she wailed, her nails just about digging into his shirt with the way she was clinging to him.

"You must." He murmured, kissing her hair, afraid to look her in her eyes.

"Well, c-can't you c-come with m-me?" she stuttered, sniffling.

"Darling I wish I could…but you have to go alone. I'll give you Brendon's cell so you can still call if you need to, but you need to leave as soon as you're ready." He said softly, gently trying to ease her out of his arms.

"I'm s-st-staying here with y-you!" She cried, wrapping her arms back around him, although he tried to protest. He knew he could always resort to forceful physical contact to get her off him, but that was the last thing on his mind.

Getting her away was the last thing he wanted to be doing, he wanted just the opposite more than anything in the world. He wanted to be holding her, singing her to sleep, cradling as she cried about nightmares, not that she was being sent away - even if it was for her own safety.

He kissed her forehead, closed his eyes for a moment and thought. Did he really need to put that wall up again, to block emotion and become like ice? He didn't want to, but, he knew it was only thing that would make her see he was serious.

Sighing mentally, William opened his eyes, seeing her hazel ones glassy, tear tracks running down her face, her lip trembling.

"D-Don't. D-Don't say you're leaving me!" she pleaded, still clinging to him. He knew if he faltered now, it'd be too late.

"Adeline Jeanette Winters, if you don't let go of me in the next five seconds, I will make decisions involving you and a certain Mike Carden that I will forever regret," he said, voice stern.

"Bu-" remembering how he said someone else besides him would have to deliver the killing blow, reluctantly she let go of him, got up and walked over toward the backpack, zipped it up, threw it over her shoulder, opened the door and then stormed downstairs.

William sat on the bed, and dropped his head into his hands, and for the first time in about three hundred years, honestly felt like crying.

_'Adeline, I'll make this up to you, I swear. I know you can't understand what this is doing to me, but it's for your own good. I just hope you can see I love you...'_

Brendon looked up the minute he heard AJ's footfalls. Somebody was pissed off.

"Hey, calm down alright? I know William's all…unraveling, but that doesn't mean you have to be as well." He started, noticing the backpack and then her face.

"Don't tell me to calm down. You don't know what he just told me!"

"Well, what'd he tell you?"

The only answer he got was a glare, and then he remembered. Grabbing for his cell, he handed it to her.

"Alright, I get it. William said I'm to let you borrow this, in case you need to reach us. I know you don't want to hear this, but he's doing the right thing. He's not going to let you die, Adeline. You're the only person that's ever managed to pull emotions out of him none of the rest of us have seen before." He added as she nodded, he realized she was holding back tears.

"But I don't want to leave him…or the rest of you. Since Remus died, you guys…you're my family now. I can't watch you all die like he got killed…I found his body! I'd rather die alongside you!"

She was choking up again, this entire day just wasn't going well. Ryan came in from the kitchen, at least ten bags of blood in his hands.

"What the hell?" AJ asked, trying to not believe what she knew the point was.

"Open your backpack. This'll keep you covered for a few days, and then you can hunt."

She bit her lip and shook her head.

"Does he honestly think I'm leaving? It's going against everything Remus taught me…"

"Well then he taught you well." Ryan added, knowing girls sometimes learned the most powerful life lessons from their fathers.

"I mean it, Remus always told me never leave a comrade in battle, never turn your back when surprises still lurk just the shadow's edges, and most important of all, always remember to say I love you every–"

"time you leave because you don't know if you'll ever return." AJ's head snapped up as William finished her sentence as he walked downstairs, and the realization that he knew the same saying she'd lived her life by hit her hard.

Before she could stop herself, she ran and threw herself into his arms, not caring if he was on the steps.

"You learned it too? I've lived by that saying, and so far it's worked, I've always came back! I don't know how many times I can repeat this, but I don't want to leave!"

"I know you don't, but you have to."

"You keep saying that, but I'm not sure what you really mean. Wouldn't you rather have me die with you if the battle's really going to be as bad as you think? 'I know you don't, but you have to,' you make it sound as though you want me to suffer!" she challenged, almost rolling her eyes at Ryan's snicker, she knew the others knew she was the only one that could talk back to William and get away with it.

William didn't know what to say. No matter how many times he explained it, she was going to see it as abandonment.

"Adeline..." he sighed, "I know it won't matter how many times I say this, so I'll just put this in terms you'd better understand, put a bargain at the end so you'll listen."

She nodded, crossing her arms over her chest, "Go on."

"I want you to sit down though, I don't want you fainting on me."

"Fainting? What do you mean?"

"You'll see."

She threw the backpack to Ryan and almost ran to the couch, sitting down, eagerly awaiting William to explain himself.

"So...because in Spencer's vision, it doesn't end well, I'm deciding that if I have to make the choice to keep only one of us alive, it's got to be you. That's why I'm ordering you to get out of here, I don't know how long we have until the battle comes. And on the offhand chance that we manage to defeat the demon and her friends, I'll find you. Then, we'll find a church, and a hospital so we can steal a child you so desperately want."

"William, why would we need to find a ch-"

"Close your eyes." AJ did as she was told, already having a clue as to what was happening.

"We'd need to find a church because - well, darling, open your eyes."

She did, and immediately smiled at the sight of William kneeling on one knee in front of her, a small ring box in his outstretched palm.

"Adeline, that isn't the way I wanted to do this, I had planned for it to be far earlier, but I hadn't had the mind to do it until now. I still remember wiping your memory just about six years ago, and how easily you trusted me. I realize I had wanted you dead at one point, but you've taught me more about the missing part of myself - the connection I found back to whatever remaining part of my humanity I had left, I discovered it when I found you again at Slane. And that illusion, had I not decided to play on a grander level, I would have gladly gone along with your plans. We can do all that, and more after you come back, but first I need to know..."

Here he paused and smiled at her, and AJ swore, had her heart still been beating it would have stopped dead right there.

"Adeline Jeanette Winters, will you marry me?"

She blinked, not wasting any time in nodding yes furiously, smiling like an idiot. As William opened the ring box, she realized she'd seen that ring before - he'd found pictures of him and another girl, and the girl had been wearing the ring...wait, was this Christine's ring?

It looked absolutely amazing on her. The ring itself looked old due to the flowy script around the band, but it was still shiny, obviously it had been stored to maintain its mint condition. It was a white gold band with a single princess cut diamond in the middle, and the way it reflected light managed to take AJ's breath away everytime she looked at her hand.

She didn't realize there were tears slipping down her cheeks until she felt William wipe them away, and then kiss her forehead.

He pulled back to look in her eyes, seeing all traces of confusion and anger gone, only to catch one of longing and regret.

"Now what's that look for?"

"I'm sorry," she choked out, starting to cry again, trying to calm down enough to where she could be understood.

"Of course I'll marry you, but it's just...just that this is all my fault that that damn demon and those...that we're getting ready to fight...If I hadn't gone with you, everything w-would've-"

William sat up on his knees, humming Ashokan Farewell and stroking her hair, anything to try and calm her.

"Sshhh, my dear, this is fate...this would happen no matter what, whether you were involved or not," he soothed, although this only served to make her cry harder.

"W-why do I f-feel like I-I'll never s-see you a-again?" she asked, and her saying that set his mind running.

She knew what was going to happen, that he would die. But if he told her that, confirmed it, she would make sure she died in his arms, surrounded by the family she'd came to know.

He didn't want another girl he loved to die in his arms, Christine had been enough, although the circumstances were entirely different. He knew he had to keep lying, just so she'd leave, get to safety before hell descended.

"You will. You'll see me again. I promise."

He looked at Brendon to see the younger vampire shaking his head, as if he was saying, 'just tell her the truth'. William eyes his eyes, wanting to telepathically drill a message into the other's head.

_'If I tell her what is going to happen, that we're all going to die, she'll insist she stay and fight, and then she dies in my arms. I cannot, and will not let that happen.'_

_'Fine. But she needs to go...now. Jon's said Spencer's had another vision...they're only twenty minutes away...'_

_'Did you give her your phone?'_

_'Yeah, she's set. Just get her out of here, now.'_

William nodded, looking back at AJ. She'd calmed down some, but was still looking around nervous about something.

"What's wrong?"

"I can feel it in the air...there's so much tension..." she explained, licking her lips, her lycan side already itching for a fight.

"That's your cue to go. You need to get as far away from here as possible, and if I were you I would phase, you'll cover more ground in your wolf form."

William pulled her to her feet and handed her the backpack, walked her to the front door and opened it, trying not to let his face betray his heart.

"But can't I st-" she pleaded a final time, turning as she stood on the edge of the veranda.

"Go."

"But Wi-"

"GO!"

Her face immediately fell, and he knew she was trying to not start crying again after finally having regained her composure. She turned to walk away, threw the backpack to the ground, and not two seconds later he heard the distinct 'crack' of her phasing, then her howl.

She went to spring into a run, but something made her turn back and look at him, maybe ask just a final time.

And then, the look in her eyes made everything come flooding back. William had gone so long being numb to pretty much everything - the people he thought were close to him, feelings he never knew he had that thanks to Adeline he'd been able to find, memories he thought he'd forgot - and then it was like a one two punch by nostalgia and the delay.

The way she looked at him was like the first time they'd fought in the darkened Chicago alleyways, back when she'd been sent in to kill him.

He knew if he didn't say what he wanted to in the next few seconds, he'd possibly never talk to her again.

"Adeline, wait!" Before she turned back, he ran towards her, automatically running his fingers through her fur, his face directly in front of hers as she licked him, taking the moment for all it was worth.

She stood still as William's hand moved to scratch behind the ear that Amelia had torn, although it was healed perfectly fine now. His other hand went to her muzzle to tip her snout up, and he kissed it, sighing.

"I can't let you go without following the motto you've lived by. And whatever happens, remember - I love you. Now go...I'll be here. I'll find you when this is over. I me-"

Just then Mike came running out, having been inside scanning for the group's approach.

"We've got probably five minutes, William. If Spencer's right, and this is the end, let's be ready."

William turned back to finish saying a final goodbye to Adeline, but she had already disappeared, taking the backpack with her.


	31. Chapter 32

Finally, after hours of waiting, it had arrived. Judgment Day. Everyone was brimming with excitement. As the group loaded up their weapons, they chatted among themselves.

"So, how are we going to work this? We all can't just bum rush the entire house," Ray said as twirled around an electric baton.

"I have an even better question: Amelia, where did you get all of these weapons? I'm sure half of these guns are illegal," Chuck said, shaking his head.

Amelia only smiled.

"I don't care how we split ourselves up. All I know is that that bastard Mike Carden is going to die, and I'll be damned if my face isn't the last thing that he sees before he dies," Mikey declared as he cracked his knuckles.

"Jeeze, Mikey, calm down. We haven't even left yet," Gerard laughed.

"I think Ray is right though, guys. We need a strategy," Seb agreed.

"It's simple: We go there, we kill those bastards, we burn the house down, and then we go on our merry way. What's not to get?" Frank asked as he popped open a blood bag and drank it.

"Sounds good enough to me," David replied, nodding his head. Seb slapped him upside the head.

"Take this seriously, guys. We can't afford to fool around," he said seriously and Bob and Chuck nodded in agreement.

"Well, we can't rush in there all at once for two reasons. One, they're probably expecting us, so we'll need to be smarter than that. Second, we can cover more ground if we split up. Seb, you and your friends will take the back. Gerard, we'll take the front. We can meet somewhere in the foyer. Sound good?" Amelia said, her tactical assassin thinking coming into play.

She was met with nods all around.

"Well, it's settled, then. Let's finish gearing up and let's do this!" she declared.

-

The group left the hotel and walked in the general direction of where they thought the Dandies mansion was. Mikey and Seb kept their noses to the sky, trying to catch a scent that would lead them in the right direction. Eventually, they figured out that they were indeed heading in the right direction.

Soon, the mansion loomed in front of them, sticking out against the dark backdrop of the night like a giant, white beacon. They approached the mansion with caution, when David brought up a good point.

"Hey guys, since they have a clairvoyant vampire on their side, I'm sure they already know that we're coming. Why are we being so careful?" he asked.

"Yeah! Let's just get going!" Frank exclaimed as he ran forward.

"FRANK, STOP!" Pierre suddenly yelled and Frank stopped in mid-motion, his left leg hanging above the ground.

"Why? What's wrong?" he asked, trying his best to stay still.

"Whatever you do, don't move," Pierre said.

"What's wrong, Pierre? There's nothing on the ground," Mikey said, his sharp eyes scanning the ground.

"That's what they want you to think," Pierre muttered quietly.

He held his left arm out with his palm facing out. His right arm was bent across his chest with his pointer and middle fingers pointed up and held across his heart. He slowly moved his right hand outward in a wide arc, and the ground beneath Frank's feet split and fell into the earth, leaving a hole. Across the hole, there was a piece of wire.

Amelia gasped. "Tripwire!" she exclaimed and Pierre nodded.

"If Mikey couldn't even see it, how did you know it was there?" Gerard asked, raising his eyebrow.

Pierre smiled sheepishly. "Part lucky guess, part Earthbending skill. As we were walking, I could feel the wire vibrating. That's why I'm not wearing any shoes. Makes it easier for me to sense the earth," he replied as he wiggled his toes.

"How are we going to get across it?" Bob wondered.

"I'm not sure. It's likely attached to some sort of explosives. We can't risk trying to cut the wire. I don't know what we're going to do," Pierre said as Frank gave a shout.

He became unbalanced and was now falling towards the tripwire. Before he could hit it, Gerard appeared behind him and grabbed him by the back of the shirt. His foot was only centimeters away from hitting the wire. Everyone breathed a sigh of relief. Gerard grabbed Frank and shoved him back towards the group.

"Frank, we don't need you getting yourself or anyone else killed. For now, just stay by Bob, please," he asked with a sigh.

"So, what are we going to do about the wire?" Chuck asked.

Pierre was silent for a moment before he clenched his hands into claws and made a motion like his was tearing something apart. The earth that was in front of them split, leaving a crevice in its wake. Thankfully, there were no more cables. Everyone was able to safely navigate the path once Pierre made it whole again. Gerard, Mikey, Amelia, Ray, Frank, and Bob stood on the front porch. Sebastien, David, Pierre, Chuck, and Jeff stood on the grass and made their way around to the back.

"Stay safe, you guys," Amelia called behind them, and Seb nodded.

The six of them, now alone, braced themselves. They were in for the fight of their lives.

"I hope they're ready for a firefight," Gerard said as he kicked the door in. It was now, or never.

'_I can't let him fight alone…I don't care what he says, I'm going back,' _AJ thought as she stopped running, skidding on the gravel road she'd been following.

'_I know William's told me I'm not supposed to be there during the battle, but I don't care. He's now my fiancé, I can't….he won't fight alone. He didn't let me tear apart Amelia when I had the chance the first time; I'm not letting him tear anyone apart unless I'm there to back him up.'_

AJ howled and took off at a run back towards the house, but she wasn't sure which way she had come from, and she was somewhat in the middle of the Louisiana backwoods.

'_Great. How the hell am I getting home? Wait…since I'm a dandie now, I can do that telepathic communication thing! Should I even tr-"_

She closed her eyes and tried to focus. Automatically she thought of William, and at once she saw what he was seeing. There was clearly a fight going on, and he clearly had the upper hand.

She could see the demon just outside of his peripheral vision, and she gasped and the demon looked at him and smiled.

"She's in your head, darling. Don't think I can't tell…" the demon replied, walking toward William, lifting a hand towards his face, as if she was readying to strike. AJ blinked, and found herself back in the dark woods, no longer seeing what William was.

'_Alright, that's it, I'm headin-' _before she could finish her thought however, another voice interrupted her thought, communicating telepathically with her, just like the wolves in twilight.

'_Adeline Jeanette, although I'm impressed that you've finally tried telecommunicating, I'd appreciate if you'd find other times asides then when I'm engaged in battle.' _William's voice sounded in her head. She tried to shake her thoughts that she was heading home, she knew that William would know of her intentions.

'_Right…alright. When can I come home? Baby I don't like being out here when you're-'_

'_Adeline, don't you dare tell me you're returning home at an instance such as this! I gave you an order to get yourself to safety, and I expect you to follow it, do I make myself clear?' _he yelled, making her cringe. Wow, he really was mad, and as a downside, he knew.

'_Yes William…I just…I love you!" _she repeated, desperate to advert his anger.

'_And that's all well and expected, but dear, you're to leave me fight until I find you. Now run, dear – enough distance can never be enough.'_

And not heeding his suggestion to run farther away, AJ doubled back and began the long run home, hoping she wouldn't be too late, that she could still join the bloodbath.


	32. Chapter 33

AJ burst in the open door of the house, completely taken aback. The entire house was in disarray, and she immediately began thinking worst case scenario. There were burn marks on the walls, and the furniture was torn up, claws marks running across every piece.

"William?" she called, expecting him to be waiting for her somewhere, as she didn't see anyone. The house was dark, but thanks to her hybrid abilities she could see where she was going, even if a few lamps were still lit.

"Woah…what did-" she backed up, feeling herself trip over something. She knelt on the ground, brushing her hand over whatever it was.

When she looked at her hand, she screamed. It was covered in ash.

And if she was in a house of vampires, ash only meant one thing. Somebody had been staked, and disintegrated. Hoping it wasn't one of the boys, she went deeper into the house, noticing how quiet it was. Had everyone left?

Maybe the upstairs was fine still, maybe, just maybe, William and the others had managed to defeat the others and he'd be up waiting for her, comforter already pulled down, sheets just waiting to be messed up...

AJ lost herself in daydreams, but then she looked at her ring. The thought of the ring meaning so much more than mind control and timed games sent her running up the stairs, skidding to a stop before their bedroom.

But to her horror, it was empty, nothing was disturbed, and everything was as she'd left it the night before.  
Immediately panic began to well up in her stomach, what if, for once, Remus' lesson had failed? She went back downstairs, into the kitchen, looking for any sort of sign she wasn't alone.

She heard someone humming Ashokan Farewell, and it clicked that it was something William would always hum. Taking off toward the sound, she ran through the riot act in her head he was going to get when she finally collapsed into his arms, thankful to see him alive

_'Well, after I'm done kissing him anyways...' _she added as an afterthought.

As she turned the corner to go into the living room, she saw a figure standing just inside the shadows, just out of reach of the lamp's light. She couldn't tell who it was.

"Brendon? Mike? Guys, quit it, you're scaring me..."

No answer. AJ almost felt sick now, this was way too creepy to end well, and come to think of it, the humming didn't even sound like William!

She looked around, noticing it felt like someone was watching her.

If William was playing some sick game to scare her, she wasn't going to fall for it. Knowing someone was in the shadows, she decided to find out who it was.

Hesitantly walking to the hearth's edge, she reached up and grabbed the air, waiting to grab a fistful of hair, hoping she'd earn some sort of sound so she could tell who it was. Imagine her surprise when she knew who it was not by the sound, but by the appearance.

Stumbling backwards, she tripped and fell, still trying to convince herself she'd hadn't grabbed a handful of fire truck engine red hair.

"Hey guys, looks like AJ's home. Pity she hasn't found Beckett yet," Gerard said, stepping out of the shadows, Amelia beside him.

"W-Where is h-he? What'd y-you do to him?" AJ stuttered, really afraid now. If Gerard and Amelia were still alive...

"Why don't you see for yourself, dear? He's just been waiting for you to come back!" Amelia added, way too happy to be the Amelia AJ knew.

AJ turned on her heels and ran, screaming for Beckett.

"Just wait til' she sees what we've done to him," Frank added from the other side of the room, smirking.

"She'll never know what hit her." Ray reasoned, smiling, although he couldn't help pitying the hybrid somewhat, as what she discovered was going to break her heart, and possibly, whatever remained of her sanity.

As she ran, the group took off after her, knowing where to go to watch her realize what had happened.

* * *

AJ ran into one of the offices, really this was just another parlor like area, but it contained work desks. She noticed the body on the ground, and her breath caught. It looked so familiar. The hair, the bangs. But the eyes were shut. The second she tried walking closer, she heard a growl.

"Glad that son of a bitch is dead. Deserves it for everything he's done." Mikey said, satisfied with the work the group had done, because the battle had certainly been one they weren't going to forget anytime soon.

AJ turned, her eyes brimming with tears, to see Amelia, Gerard, his brother, their friends, and the one Brendon had referred to as the Canadian mutt and his friends standing together across the room.

Now without hesitation, she ran, dropping to her knees as she picked up William's lifeless body and cradled it.

She knew, why he had told her to leave, why he insisted she not stay. He knew he was going to die, and in telling her to leave, choose to keep her alive rather than himself. But why hadn't he just came with her? They could have ran, until the end of the earth - until a safe haven was found, protecting all from harm. AJ almost smiled, remembering how she'd once referred to him as a 'heartless twisted bastard'. Now, as she held his body, she realized he was anything but. He'd sacrificed himself for her, lied to her to keep her safe - they weren't getting married, and the thought only brought tears to her eyes as she looked at the ring.

The ring that his first love had worn, whom he had killed. Oh how she wished she was dead! Then at least, she wouldn't be so...alone. Remus was gone, she'd betrayed Lucian, and now, here, her only love lay in her arms, eyes so full of color but so drained of life.

She couldn't stop the tears from falling, nor could she keep herself from closing William's eyes and then kissing his forehead before gently setting him back down. Now it didn't seem so unsettling, maybe he was sleeping now. But of course, the stake was the only thing that made reality sink in.

"You did this to him?" AJ turned to glare at Mikey and company, not bothering to wipe the tears from her eyes as she stood up.

"Please, you think we were going to let him live? The evil piece of shit," Frank spat, just as AJ retaliated.

"You bastards…you're not going to live after doing this. You don't mess with the Dandies, especially their leader….and my mate."

"Oh, I'm so scared, the little hybrid is mad….what's she gonna do, bark us to death?"

"Take that back! You don't understand! He was…after I lost Remus, and was captured by William the first time five years ago, I felt something change. He understood me, the pain that was losing someone close. And although he controlled my mind the first time, by the time he'd found me again at Slane I knew his feelings had changed. He didn't kill me, to this moment he couldn't. And now he's gone. He had just proposed! He…He was my everything!" AJ managed to say, already feeling anger and sadness welling up as she flashed the ring towards the group, watching their eyes widen in disbelief.

Just looking at William's body, the stake driven into his chest is enough to make her see red. She knows his body won't disintegrate until it's burned, there's an ancient magic that protects the oldest of vampires, whereas younger ones would have turned to dust.

"He's gone, get over it. What's your reason for living now?" Amelia added, stepping forward .The waterbender and both of the onis immediately went to follow her but she held a hand out to stop them.

"I…"

"You don't have one. AJ, listen to yourself. You're still the same girl I knew when I met you, crazy for guys…that's all you care about."

"And what's it to you? What if I killed- oh, wait, you've never known what this feels like! You've NEVER been in love and had it torn away in the blink of an eye! You won't understand this, ever."

"That's not my point. You don't have a reason for living. Come back to the light…"

"If I do, Lucian would kill me. If he knows what I've done, what I've tried to do…"

"Would you rather become a twisted selfish bastard like that thing on the floor?" Ray interjected, motioning to Beckett.

"N-No…he saved me, he's not selfish! But I can't turn back. I've made my choice. I'll just be lonely for the next few millennia, I suppose." AJ reasoned sadly.

"You won't have to be." Amelia said, finally bringing up Lucian's solution to the vow he'd made to Remus shortly before his death.

"What's that mean?"

"I mean…if you truly loved him, you could go with him and in turn redeem yourself…by…letting me kill you."

"Wait-"

"I could kill you, in turn purifying the darkness that's overtaken your heart. Once you die, you'll be reunited with Beckett. If you truly love him as much as you say you do, I can't condemn you to wander the earth alone and miserable while I'm happy and enjoying life."

"You know, that sounds an awful lot like something Remus would have said…" AJ agreed, nodding, "And if this is the best way, I'll take it. Better than most other options out there."

Amelia nodded, grabbing her gun, and AJ's head instantly filled with memories.

* * *

_She knelt next to a body, the man she'd come to know as a father, unmoving, his body but a shell. She cried, tears of denial that he was really dead, for the lessons he'd taught her. She felt a hand on her shoulder. Looking up, a tall winged demon stood over her. Instantly she curled up into a ball, the demon speaking in English to her._

_"Don't be afraid. I won't hurt you. I-" at that moment the demon transformed into a teenage girl, blue green _  
_eyes looking over AJ, concern radiating from her gaze._

_"Was just like you at some point. My name's Amelia. What's yours?"_

_"A-AJ…"_

* * *

_"Hey Rae, check this out! 25 rounds with a built in scope and night vision! The only thing it's missing is a sign for free blood!" AJ joked, looking over their new weapons._

_"Stop worrying about the vampire attracting ability of it and focus on it's performance as a fatally wounding weapon," Amelia chastised laughing._

_"But if I shoot a vampire in the heart, does that make him mine?"_

_"…I will never understand you."_

* * *

AJ closed her eyes, and then – she could see his face.

His brown eyes were warm, and his hair was longer again, like the first time she'd met him, how he looked  
the night she'd fallen under his control. William's lips were moving, but she couldn't make out what he was trying to say. She almost thought she could sense him holding out a hand to her, as if he was beckoning her to join him.

She nodded, opening her eyes again, only to see Amelia holding the gun, it cocked and ready to fire. Was it her imagination, or were there tears in her eyes?

"I'm sorry." AJ chokes out, barely managing to get the words past the lump in her throat. Did it always have to be this way? No, no, it didn't. But she'd been corrupted, and even though the source of her corruption was dead, there was no turning back for her.

"Believe me, I am-" Amelia fired her gun without warning, two shots of holy water and silver nitrate entering AJ's body. As the hybrid collapsed to her knees and gasped in pain, her mouth moving in a single word, perhaps a final farewell, Amelia looked down at her body, trying to blink back tears before finishing her sentence, "Too."

After Amelia fired the shots, she was too stunned for words. She wasn't angry. She wasn't sad. She just felt numb. She was staring at her friend's body, transfixed. Sighing, she realized that, even in death, AJ finally looked like she was at peace.

It wasn't until Mikey put his hand on her shoulder that it finally registered, what she had done. She cried for a long time after that.


	33. Chapter 35

Once the whole thing with Beckett calmed down, Amelia went back to California. She closed down the shop and, for a few months, wandered aimlessly around the places she and AJ had gone. It hurt her to know that her best friend was gone, but at the same time, she felt at peace, knowing she was better off dead than someone's brainless minion.

Gerard and the others called her every once in awhile and came to visit, just to make sure she was okay. And she told them she was doing fine, when she really wasn't. It was hard to walk the same roads, go to the same shops, without her best friend by her side. In order to clear her head, she went to visit Sebastien and his friends up in Canada.

When she came back home, she walked down the street slowly, taking everything in. She didn't know what to do. She was truly miserable. She was so lost in her thoughts that she didn't even notice that someone was following her.

Suddenly, she felt a hand over her mouth and something was placed over her head. She instinctively struggled, but whomever it was had an iron grip on her. She heard what sounded like someone talking, and then she was being placed on the ground.

"Whoever you are, you'd better let me go!" she demanded, and the person laughed.

"Trust me, Mimi, we're doing this for your own good," said a voice and she immediately knew who had grabbed her.

The blindfold was removed from her eyes and she was staring at Mikey and Gerard's house. Across the front of the house, there was a banner that said "Welcome home, Mimi!" in big, bright letters.

"What's going on?" she asked.

"Well, we've noticed that you haven't been doing so well, so we took it upon ourselves to kidnap you and all your stuff," Mikey started.

"And we've decided that you're going to live with us!" Gerard finished, who was walking up to them.

So the Way brothers let Amelia stay with them, and that's how she relocated to New Jersey permanently. It was nice for her, because she wasn't alone, and it was nice for Mikey, who could keep an eye on her, being the overprotective Lycan that he was.

Eventually, the guys all seemed to settle down with their respective partners, so Amelia moved into her own apartment.

One night, as she was sleeping peacefully, her cellphone rang. She looked at the clock and it was only 3:00 in the morning.

"Hello?" she answered as she wiped the sleep from her eyes.

"Mimi, it's Gerard. Alicia and Mikey are on their way to the hospital. It's time!" yelled Gerard from the other end of the line.

"That's great, Gerard, but -"

"Well, are you coming or not? Come on, get up! I'll have Ray come and pick you up!"

"Gerard -"

"Or you know what, I'll just have Bob teleport, that'll be easier."

"Gerard -"

"Or maybe I'll -"

"GERARD!" she yelled, finally causing the excited vampire to stop talking.

"Gerard, I'm going to tell you what I'm going to do, okay? I'm going to go back to sleep, and I will come to the hospital when it is a reasonable time for me to be awake. I'm sure everything will be fine. I'll see you in a few hours, okay?"

"Okay," he said, sounding slightly disappointed, and hung up.

Amelia rolled over and went back to sleep. The next time she woke up, it was 9:00 in the morning. She showered and then walked over to the local hospital. She was led to the waiting room by a nice little nurse and that was where she found everyone waiting.

The minute that she walked in, Gerard immediately jumped up and started babbling about how long this delivery was taking and why didn't they have cable in the room. She laughed and went to greet everyone else. Even Lucian had made it. A birth in the Lycan community was rare, so he wanted to be sure to see the child.

"I swear to God, Gerard, you had better sit your ass down before you wear a rut in the floor!" Bob exclaimed, who was sitting next to Frank, playing cards. Gerard ignored him.

Sighing, Bob looked at Ray, who just nodded. Ray came up behind Gerard and grabbed him. He physically sat him down in a chair and held him there, just so he couldn't pace. It almost worked, until a nurse came in and said that they could go in and see Mikey and Alicia.

Gerard jumped out of the chair and ran down the hallway. Bob just sighed.

"I swear, the Way brothers are going to be the death of me," he mused and Amelia laughed.

Everyone made their way into the room where Mikey and Alicia were. After lots of hugs and congratulations, everyone got a chance to hold the baby. It was a girl.

"So, do you guys have any plans for a name?" asked Amelia as she sat down and held the little bundle of joy, who was growling playfully.

"Actually, we do. Since she's a feisty little one, we'd like to name her Adeline Jeanette Way, in honor of AJ," Mikey explained as he intertwined his fingers with Alicia's.

Amelia was stunned and humbled. As she gave the baby to Lucian, she got teary-eyed. She could even see tears forming in the old Lycan's eyes.

"Adeline Jeanette. What a fitting name," he remarked quietly. Amelia meanwhile, was lost in thought.

_'I guess friendships really can last a lifetime. I'm sorry AJ…for everything. But now I know you forgive me, and it's time I forgave myself for what I did to you. I'll see you sooner or later, Santi. Keep Beckett and the boys out of trouble wherever you are, alright?"_

As she bowed her head in a moment of silence for her lost friend, and she almost thought she heard AJ's giggle.

_"Don't worry Rae, this mission's going to be easy."_

"Alicia, did you just say something?"

"No, why?"

"I swear I just heard a female voice….it almost sounded like AJ!" she realized.

Everyone looked at her, unsure of what to say.

"That's impossible." Lucian said finally, looking at Adeline.

"What?"

"She just smiled when you said AJ." He explained.

"Newborn babies can't smile." Mikey said, startled of the mention of his daughter smiling.

"Or so you thought." Alicia chimed, she herself smiling.

"Alright, so maybe there's a lot I have to learn…but one thing's for sure, I'm glad I have-" Mikey turned from looking at his wife to everyone in the room, "People like you to share this wonderful life with."

Amelia nodded, Mikey was right. She had friendships that would last a lifetime with the people in this room, and absolutely nothing could change that. And as Amelia got up to hand Adeline back to Mikey, a song she and AJ had listened to years ago managed to weasel its way inside her head.

She knew that the song would be the sort of thing that would put Adeline to sleep, so before she headed down to the hospital's food court, she wrote down the lyrics and gave them to Alicia, wishing her and Mikey all the best for what lay ahead of them.

* * *

"_Honey is for bees, silly bear Besides, there's jelly beans everywhere_

_It's not what it seems in the land of dreams Don't worry your head just go to sleep_

_When you wake up the world will come around, When you wake up the world will come around…"_


End file.
